


Forbidden Infatuation

by TheFuckKindaNameIsThat



Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Explicit Language, Internal Conflict, Jealousy, M/M, Male Homosexuality, Masturbation, Recreational Drug Use, Repressed Emotions, Secrets, Smut, Temptation, Unreciprocated Pining, Unreciprocated feelings, explicit content, fantasies
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-28
Updated: 2019-04-12
Packaged: 2019-10-18 07:07:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 30,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17576210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheFuckKindaNameIsThat/pseuds/TheFuckKindaNameIsThat
Summary: Yevgeny Milkovich had always really known that he was gay. But what he hadn't known, was just how hard he would fall for the tall, handsome redhead that his father was in love with.





	1. Chapter 1

Yevgeny Milkovich had always really known that he was gay. Since he was very young, he'd always shown more interest in other little boys, than he had in little girls, but never really understood what his feelings meant until he was older, around the time he'd hit puberty. His very first kiss had even been with a boy, the first friend he'd ever made back in elementary school. 

He and his friend Jared, whom he often played dinosaurs and action figures with, had hid within the bushes just beyond the playground and expressed their misunderstood and prepubescent feelings for one another in a way neither ever had before. It was innocent at the time, and even though Jared's feelings had changed as they'd gotten older, finding more interest in dating girls, seeming to have forgotten about their secret embrace all those years ago, Yevgeny’s interests in boys had never really changed. And mostly for Jared's sake, it had remained a long forgotten secret between them, though they never really spoke about it even all these years later. Then eventually the pair had drifted apart, so there'd been no reason to ever bring it up again, not really wanting to speak on something that'd happened so very long ago anyway. 

Even growing up with gay parents, Yevgeny had still always kept his feelings a secret, still nervous and almost embarrassed on how the rest of the world may perceive him if he'd ever told the truth. His mother Svetlana, whom he'd lived with throughout the entirety of his childhood had once been a whore, a prostitute, forced to sleep with strange men as a means of income, the only real way that she knew to support him. But she only had love for a single woman, Nika, who had almost been like a second mother to him during his younger years when he'd had no one else.

Yevgeny's father Mickey, who had been in prison most of his life, locked away on a ten year sentence for attempted murder, was gay too. It was a fact he had only learned from his mother about a year before the man's release, discovering that the woman he attempted to kill had tried to get his long time lover, Ian, thrown into a military prison in retribution for something that had been done to her own son, even though the man hadn't had anything to do with it himself. The story had surprised him, intrigued and confused him, not understanding how two gay people could ever get together to create him in the first place. But no matter how much Yevgeny had asked his mother about it, she never seemed too eager to tell him how it happened and left him to simply wonder, despite how badly he wanted to know. 

Yevgeny had only ever really known his father through the glass of the prison's visitor’s room, since he was too young to remember the man when he'd gotten locked up and had never gotten much chance to know him in any other capacity, not until he was released. He'd never really known Ian either, though the man had apparently been quite involved in his life for a short period when he was a baby, too young to have any recollection of him either. But Yevgeny had gotten the chance to meet him a few times in person, often seeing him at the prison when he'd come to visit his father, their visiting days occasionally overlapping. His mother had introduced them, and when he was about six, had shaken his hand for the first time, but there wasn't much more to it than that. Sometimes he would stop by their apartment to check in, but never really stayed, simply giving his mother a little money to help out when expenses were tight, but he'd never stay long, offering not much more than a simple smile and quick wave in his direction before he'd leave again. To Yevgeny, Ian was still more of a stranger than anything else, not a friend, nor a father figure, but simply the man that his incarcerated biological father was in love with, and mostly only saw him from afar. 

Even though Yevgeny should have felt safe enough to confide in his mother, or even his father about his secret preferences, knowing that if anyone would understand, it would be them, he still didn't. He still stayed hidden for a very long time, even after Mickey had been released and his mother had suddenly taken off, leaving him to be raised by his father alone and disappeared from his life without any warning. Yevgeny was twelve when that'd happened and his mother's sudden departure had been quite jarring to say the least, it having been quite unexpected and completely out of blue, leaving him with a saddened, yet numbing shock to his system. He'd been left with a man that he barely seemed to know, despite all the years he'd spent trying to learn more about him through a thick pane of glass and shut himself off to the world, locking himself away in his room for days at a time within his father's little apartment on the south side of Chicago. But very slowly, and with his father’s patient and persistent willingness to try to help him, console him and support him, Yevgeny finally emerged and tried his best to move on from what'd happened, even if he still didn't know why it had. 

Around the same time, Ian had suddenly become a rather involved person in his life, very soon after having moved in to be with his father, the man whom he seemed to love more than much of anything else and tried his best to support Yevgeny as well. Together with his father, Ian would take him school shopping near the end of each summer, often helped him with his homework during the year, cooked dinner for them as a family, and sometimes even took him to museums or movie theatres. It still took Yevgeny some time to warm up to the man, but seeing his caring and kindness, along with the way Ian and his father seemed to so unconditionally love each other, he admired what they had and eventually life with Mickey and Ian began to feel comfortable, easy, like he had a family again even without his mother or Nika. 

Then as the years slowly passed and Yevgeny grew into a teenager, now being seventeen, he began to feel quite close to his father and to Ian, enjoying his time at home with them and trusted them with just about anything. Though Yevgeny still hadn't come out about his sexuality to either of them, and the older he got the more nervous he began to become about ever doing so. This was most especially because the feelings that he slowly seemed to develop for Ian specifically never exactly felt appropriate for a boy to have toward a man who was presumably somewhat of a step father to him. And Yevgeny was worried that if he ever did work up the nerve to come out, these deep, dark forbidden interests that he began to have in Ian might be exposed for all to see. 

It's not that Yevgeny had knowingly developed an infatuation for his father's life partner, but as his feelings grew, it became exceedingly difficult to deny them either, at least to himself. Perhaps the redhead's love, support and kindness toward him had been unfortunately misconstrued over the years, but Yevgeny still couldn't seem to stop himself from wondering if there could possibly be some underlining ulterior motive behind them. Realistically Yevgeny knew that there was nothing else to it, that Ian simply viewed him as nothing more than the son of his partner, a teenager whom he was helping to raise. But there was still some small bit of hopefulness deep inside that there was a reason for his unconventional infatuation to have developed as much as it had, that perhaps the man thought of something more when he looked at him, as unwarranted as he knew such hopefulness was. Even if Yevgeny knew these feelings definitely weren't reciprocated, it didn't stop him from practically fawning over the man, secretly wondering if there was some way maybe they would be. 

He started out subtly, experimenting with different ways that he might get a reaction out of Ian, dropping careful little clues that he hoped would be noticed. Since his father had gotten out of prison, Mickey and Ian had purchased a bar, the Alibi, from their long time friends Kevin and Veronica after they'd opted to sell it, and often took turns trading shift hours so that while one was working, the other would be at home to keep Yev company. And Yevgeny began taking advantage of this, taking each opportunity that his father was working to try and get Ian to notice him more, but the redhead's blatant obliviousness had made his attempts much more difficult than he'd anticipated. 

One night alone together while watching one of the many horror films they had in the house, Yevgeny had tried purposefully brushing hands with Ian as they both reached for a handful of popcorn out of their shared bowl. But Ian had simply split the popcorn into two containers and offered Yev his own, much to the teenage boy's disappointment. Then he tried scooting a little closer within the darkness, gradually closing the space between them until their legs were touching as they sat watching from the couch, but Ian didn't seem to take much notice of that either, simply ignoring his movements as the boy got closer. During a rather shocking jump in the film, Yevgeny took a chance and turned his face away, burying it in Ian's arm and squeezed the man into a firm, tight hug, feigning fear and panic in the hopes that perhaps he would hug him back. But Ian just laughed, slung his arm around him for just a second, giving his shoulder a rub, then pushed him back off, informing him that the scary part was over and to toughen up, because it was just a movie. Yevgeny huffed at that, crossed his arms and sat back, disappointed to say the least. 

He tried again a few days later, in a much more daring way, stepping out from his shower without a towel and walked down the hallway toward the bedroom that Ian shared with his father. Yevgeny tried to offer a smirk at the man as he leaned against the doorframe, hoping he would take the bait. Though Ian only shot him half a glance, screwed up his face, then reached into their clean laundry hamper to grasp and throw a towel in his direction, telling him to go put some fucking clothes on because, ‘Jesus, Yev. No one wants to see that.’ He became disappointed once again, turning around to walk back to his own room and do what he was told. 

Yevgeny may still be a virgin in the closet, but it wasn't for lack of trying, having just never found someone he wanted to be intimate like that with, no one except Ian. Even though the man was in a relationship with his father, it didn't seem to sway him, not really understanding why someone like Ian would be with such a harsh and stubborn man like his father at all, not when there were other things still out there. It's not that he disliked Mickey exactly, but he was definitely an acquired taste, as far as Yevgeny was concerned. 

So, instead he tried a different tactic, going out of his way to be kinder to Ian than he normally would be, doing him favors without being asked to and trying to make him more comfortable when he'd come home from a long shift at the bar. One evening he'd brought Ian a beer as he reclined in his favorite chair in their living room, making sure it was nice and cold, even twisting open the cap for him, but was startled by his father coming home as well, having left his uncle Iggy in charge of the bar instead. Mickey had simply raised an eyebrow at him as Ian grasped the bottle and asked where the fuck his own beer was at, since Yevgeny was apparently passing them out. Yevgeny had sighed and slumped his shoulders, but walked back to the fridge to get another, trying not to frown as he watched his father lean down to give Ian a rather slow and tender kiss, just before straightening back up and snatching the icy cold bottle from his hands with a quick tip of his chin and a simple thank you in return. 

Yevgeny hated to admit that he was jealous of his father, but he was, he really fucking was, the feeling only intensifying each and every time he heard the pair's unrefrained sounds of intimacy seeping through their shared bedroom wall. Thankfully, he'd never walked in on them during their times of seemingly rigorous indulgence, but with the way his father always sounded, along with the rather loud banging of their bed frame that accompanied his moans, it wasn't hard to figure out which of them seemed to be on the top of their arrangement. As much as knowing that the sounds he heard coming from the redhead mounting his father should have disgusted him, should have repulsed him, Yevgeny couldn't help but become just a little more interested in the man because of it, wondering what it might feel like to be in Mickey's position with him, instead of being stuck listening through a wall. 

And soon Yevgeny began to experiment with himself while alone in his room, first with his fingers, and then with simple makeshift toys, slowly beginning to discover that he quite liked when his ass was being stimulated, thinking that perhaps just like his father, he may just be a bottom himself too. Then even though he knew that he shouldn't, knew that it was wrong, Yevgeny often thought about Ian during these times that he spent exploring his body and familiarizing himself with the sensation of being penetrated, imagining how much better it might feel if the redhead was inside of him instead. Such a forbidden infatuation should have made him feel dirty, should have made him feel sick, but it didn't, even if he knew he'd probably never be able to speak on it to anyone and never let it out. Still, it didn't stop him, and some days he found himself staring, thinking, lostly daydreaming about the man whenever his father was gone. Yevgeny had developed quite the intense desire for the man that was practically his step father, and no matter how much he knew that he probably shouldn't, he just couldn't seem to help it. 

But the longer he would gaze and the more Yevgeny thought on it, he began to resent them both for it, almost hating the times he would see the redhead kiss his father, the way Ian would walk up behind him to hug and hold him as he cooked their meals within the kitchen, or the sly knowing smiles they would flash each other's way just before they'd retire to their bedroom at the end of each night. Yevgeny quickly began despising them both for being so happy together, for being so comfortable and close, almost wishing they'd just split up and part ways completely. 

He began picking fights with his father especially, trying to give the man absolutely any reason to kick him out of the apartment, but Mickey never would, no matter what he did. So instead he just tried to avoid them both, locking himself inside his room, or leaving for the night to go party with his friends whenever he had the chance. Yevgeny didn't know what was wrong with him, why he felt the way he did about so very many things, or why Ian had always been so kind to him if there was nothing more to it, but now he just tried to ignore it all, as impossible as it seemed. 

Then one day when both men were gone and Yevgeny had been left alone, he got a little curious about things that he may find hidden throughout the apartment and took to snooping around the place to see what he could find. He was mostly searching around in the hopes of maybe finding his father's stash of weed that he knew he and Ian occasionally smoked, or maybe some concealed bottle of booze one of them had brought back from the bar. But as long as he looked, Yevgeny didn't much of anything at all, not until he snuck into their bedroom to search through there instead. 

First he started searching through dresser drawers, then rummaged around through their closet, but was still coming up frustratingly empty handed, finding nothing more than clothes and shoes, along the occasional blade or hand gun. But then Yevgeny got down on his knees to peek beneath their bed and found a large black box, tucked away against the wall. His eyebrow arched with intrigue as his eyes squinted beneath the bed, then stretched his arm and wiggled his fingers as he reached to grasp it and pull it out from it's place. As he sat back on the floor, Yevgeny set the box in his lap, almost hesitant to open it up and see whatever it had inside. But thinking that perhaps he'd finally found his father's weed stash, or some other hidden treasure, he finally opted to lift the lid and peer inside to see. 

But what he found was not at all what he expected, discovering it jammed full of adult toys and lubricants, straps and restraints, even a pair of handcuffs folded snuggly within the corner. At first Yevgeny pulled a face, nearly repulsed for a moment and shoved the box away, but then he paused again in thought wondering what else there might be beneath the bed. He moved back onto his knees and peeked back through the dark, disorganized space and noticed another smaller package, just beside the spot where the black box had been. So once again Yevgeny reached, his fingertips brushing against the package, stretching a little further, then grabbed a hold of that as well. 

When he pulled out the second box and blew off a layer of dust from it's surface, his eyes widened with surprise, seeing that it another adult toy, a rather thick and lengthy dildo, still in it's original packaging, which had apparently never been used before. Yevgeny turned it over and found a small card attached, seeing that it was what seemed to be a gift from Ian to his father to which the card read: ‘For those late nights when I'm away.’ 

He paused again as he read it, then flipped it back around and let his eyes trace over the object in quiet study once more. It seemed that this particular gift had been forgotten about, unlike the first black box he'd found, which hadn't had any dust on it at all. Whereas this one had been quite dusty, stuffed back farther beneath the bed and obviously had never been taken out of it's package. He tapped his fingers against it and nervously chewed his lip, just before he set it down beside him, closed the first box he'd found and tucked that back away. Then Yevgeny rose from the floor and took the untouched dildo with him. 

Immediately, Yevgeny went back to his room, closed the door and locked it, then sat down on his bed with the rubber phallus in his hands, staring down at it again. Even though he had experimented with himself quite a bit in private, he'd never had the opportunity to use a proper toy in doing so and the longer he continued to stare at the package in his hands, it became harder and harder to resist the urge to try. So finally he relented and began to open it up, tearing the seal along the edge of the box, then slid the dildo from it's package and gripped it with his hand. 

It was thick and heavy, and oddly rather detailed with a smooth, round head and it's shaft was ribbed with veins. He'd never seen a real sex toy up close before, let alone another guy's cock, really only having done so in the porn that he sneakily watched on his laptop late at night. But the longer he looked, slowly smoothing a single palm along it's length to get a feel for the thing, Yevgeny quickly became much more excited to see what it would feel like within other parts of his body. 

He then set it down on his bed and stood to retrieve the bottle of baby oil he had hidden within his dresser, just before sitting back down, popping open the cap and dribbled a rather generous amount of the liquid onto his palm. Then he laid back and pushed off his jeans, spreading his legs and began to slick the oil between his fingers with his new toy in wait beside him. With one hand he began to stroke himself, trying to urge his body into a more aroused state, then shut his eyes as he dipped his other hand farther down and began rubbing oily fingertips against his tight, yet eager opening. 

Immediately Yevgeny's mind began to drift, thinking of hard, meaty chest muscles and the rough, firm grip of what another man's hands might feel like gripping along his body. He pushed a single wet finger inside himself, wincing slightly as he did and his thoughts drifted a little more to a man that he thought about much too often when he was touching himself like this. Yevgeny thought of red hair, freckled skin and beautiful green eyes, then let his breath fall heavy as he sped up the movements of each hand. As he felt his ass begin to loosen just the slightest bit, his breath fell into a harsh, rough pant and he pushed in a second finger and moaned quietly as he did, still trying to ready himself for a much bigger object than he'd ever used before. After a while it became a little easier to push his fingers deeper inside himself, so he released his cock and reached for the dildo still beside him. Then Yevgeny pulled his fingers from his ass and grasped his bottle of oil, dribbling more inside his hand, then began to slather it along the length of the rubber cock, readying it to play. 

Then he grabbed a hold of it more tightly as he regrasped his own cock and moved the toy down toward his ass as he closed his eyes again, almost shuddering as he felt the tip of it rub against him. Yevgeny thought of Ian again, his smile, his eyes, the way his muscles would flex when he'd catch a glimpse of him doing chin ups on the pull up bar within the hall and he exhaled as he tried very slowly to breech his entrance with the toy. But his eyes clamped shut more tightly as he bit his lip and winced again, finding the dildo to be even bigger than he'd predicted, unable to penetrate himself much at all, not in the way he wanted. 

So instead Yevgeny repositioned, sitting up on his knees and placed the rubber cock beneath him, hoping that it might be easier to lower himself down onto it instead. He rubbed the head of it back against his asshole and slowly attempted to sit, suddenly gasping over the slightest moan when he felt it finally penetrate him just the slightest bit. It hurt, but not enough to stop his determination to feel more of it inside him, confident that it would begin to feel better as long as he kept going, now beginning rock his hips just slightly and jerked his cock a little faster. 

He thought again of Ian as he moved on top of the toy, remembering glimpses he'd caught of the man's chest and arms, slicked wet when he'd step out from the shower, along with the deep and breathy noises he'd make when engaged with his father just beyond his bedroom wall. Such thoughts made Yevgeny begin to moan as he sank a little further down the length of the rubber cock beneath him, shamefully pretending that was astride the redhead instead. He held a single hand tight around the dildo's base for a moment as his other hand kept tugging at his cock, then pressed the toy further into his mattress, the weight of his body holding it there as he let it go and twisted his hand inside his sheets. 

Then Yevgeny pressed his body down even further, finally taking in all of it and moaned a little deeper as he began to feel so very full from the thick, long length that moved inside him, speeding up his motions as his limbs began to tremble. This was definitely beginning to feel even better than he thought it would, no longer really hurting, though stretch still took some getting used to, not that he wasn't willing to keep trying. And as he moved, Yevgeny also wondered just how much better it might feel if it were actually the real thing, silently even more excited to hope that maybe one day he would find out. 

As Yevgeny pressed himself down harder, he felt his insides begin to clench and he tipped his head back as he rode, feeling his orgasm beginning to fill his balls and threatening to spurt from the end his cock. He sighed, then his breath hitched as he felt the rubber cock brush over the extremely sensitive and steadily throbbing bundle of nerves inside, pushing a deep, heavy exhale up from his chest. 

“Ian,” Yevgeny whispered through a quiet, tiring breath, then groaned rather loudly as his head dropped back forward and a hot, white flow of cum began flooding from his cock. He slowed as his cock emptied and slowly, Yevgeny opened his eyes, stilling his movements and began to pant from his exertion. 

The boy knew that he should probably feel ashamed of himself and what he'd just done, especially having thought of Ian nearly the entire time he'd done it, but he didn't, honestly feeling quite a bit better than he had in a very long time. Yevgeny even smiled as he exhaled, then winced a final time as he lifted his body and very carefully pulled the toy out from his ass. 

Then he laid back down on his bed once more with a subtle soreness in his backside, thinking back over what he'd just done and knew now for a certainty that not only was Yevgeny gay, but he was definitely a bottom too. He almost laughed at how good he felt, now having half a mind to go steal one of his father's beers out from the fridge to sip on while he relaxed after such an exhausting ride. Yevgeny then turned his head, eyes landing back on his new toy and knitted his brow together as he noticed something about it that he hadn't spotted before. 

He sat back up, then reached to grab it, turning it over inside his palm to notice a single, small word printed into the bottom of it's base. ‘Ian,’ it read, which only confused him as his eyes scanned across it. Yevgeny was sure the man wouldn't gift a dildo to himself and remembering what the card attached to it had said, he just didn't understand why the man's name would be on it. He then fished a hand around on the floor beside his bed, grasping it’s package and turned it over to give it a more thorough inspection. Then Yevgeny's jaw dropped as he found the name of the company it came from. 

‘Clone A Cock,’ it said, and Yevgeny couldn't do much more than blink. 

Apparently this long forgotten toy of his father's was an exact replica of Ian's cock, realizing now that the redhead must have molded it, duplicated it and had given to Mickey for the nights that he worked late at the bar, if the mood so happened to strike him. And with that Yevgeny slowly smiled again, punching out a laugh as he picked the dildo back up and looked it over again. 

Yevgeny had always kind of wondered what the redhead looked like down below, even more so as more years passed and his body had been flooded with horny, teenage hormones, and after seeing this, experiencing this, he couldn't say that he was even slightly disappointed. He also knew for sure now that he definitely wouldn't be returning it, though he doubted it's absence would be noticed anyway, opting to keep it for himself and let it be his own dark and dirty secret. 

Even if Yevgeny knew that he may not ever get a chance to experience the real thing, having this and being able to use it now whenever he pleased, it was still pretty close. And he would just have to be willing to settle for that, for now at least.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Continuation of this fic will depend greatly on reaction and feedback.**  
> **Please don't hesitate to share your thoughts!**


	2. Chapter 2

It had been almost a month since Yevgeny first tested out the new toy he'd found hidden beneath his father's bed. And every night since, he'd used it again, slowly getting more and more used to it each time that he did. He was still imaging Ian when he used it as well, feeling almost devious with each and every session, still pretending that the rubber cock he was so beginning to love was actually the real thing and that the redheaded man was actually attached to the other end. But Yevgeny still tried to be quiet when he indulged with his toy and always kept it well hidden after every use, not wanting neither his father nor Ian to hear him, find it, or even worse, walk into his room and catch him in the act. It was still his own dirty little secret that no one knew about, just like his sexuality was.

What wasn't a secret however, was that Yevgeny's eighteenth birthday was coming up quite rapidly, an event that both Ian had his father seemed very excited about and had been asking him almost pesteringly the last few days how he wanted to celebrate it. But Yevgeny really wasn't sure and honestly hadn't thought much about it, since even though this birthday was considered a bit of a milestone, it was mostly just another day to him. He figured maybe he'd just ask for cash so he could buy some weed to smoke with his friends, or to maybe convince Ian or Mickey to gift him a bottle of something strong from the bar. Whatever he chose to do, Yevgeny wasn't too eager to spend the day at home and just like any other day, he'd much rather be just about anywhere else.

But there was something else that Yevgeny secretly wanted, something that he still realistically knew that he would probably never have no matter how much he desired it. Although he also had the slightest hope that maybe now that he was a legal adult, it wouldn't seem nearly as out of reach as it always had before. Yevgeny still had quite the crush on the redheaded man who lived in his home, the very same man that he should probably view as more of a father figure, though he just never really had. What he really wanted was Ian in almost any capacity, even if just a taste of him, but didn't think he'd ever have a chance with the man, not as long as he was still so committed to Mickey. Ian was still a distant and untouchable longing that he could never possibly grasp. 

Then as the big day got closer, both Ian and Mickey had started asking him what he wanted, but he just wasn't sure how to answer, hardly able to look Ian in the eye especially when the only thing on his mind was the man himself. So instead Yevgeny simply told them that he wanted nothing in particular beside maybe cash and a nice strong drink. His father seemed to blow off the cash comment but informed him that a drink could definitely be arranged, so he had that to look forward to at least. And with his mind otherwise currently occupied by the tall redheaded man that he lived with, Yevgeny just tried to put more focus on distracting himself until his birthday passed.

When that morning finally came and Yevgeny emerged from his room with a yawn in his throat and a tender, soothing soreness in his ass from a rather intense toy session the night before, he walked into the kitchen to find a shirtless Ian occupying the stove, wearing nothing but a pair of sweatpants. He was busy flipping pancakes, frying up a pan of sausage and scrambling eggs, which wasn't very unusual to see, especially on a special occasion like today. 

But Yevgeny still paused within the doorway as he remained unnoticed for a moment, staring at the redhead's back as he cooked and quietly watched the way the man's muscles moved beneath his skin. Fuck, Ian was nice to look at, he always was. And the freshly turned eighteen year old young man behind him just couldn't help but stare as the man flipped another pancake and pushed a few sausage links around with a crackling, sizzling pop. He parted his lips and exhaled, just before he straightened up from a startle and was suddenly thrust back into reality as his father emerged within the doorway as well with a proud smile on his lips and a clap against the boy's back. 

“There's my boy,” his father greeted with a grasp, “Or should I call ya a fuckin' man now?” Mickey corrected with a chuckle and a sharp raise of his brow, then reached to give the blonde hair on top of his head a quick, rough ruffle, “Happy birthday, kid,” he said. Yevgeny rolled his eyes and frowned a bit as he moved his head away from his father's touch.

“I'm not a kid,” Yevgeny retorted, then flashed the man just the slightest glance as he saw Ian finally turn his face and noticed him as well, “But thanks,” he said as he took a step inside the kitchen a moved to find a seat at the table beside the stove. 

“Yeah, happy birthday, Yev,” Ian offered with a smile, then gestured to the pan in front him with a spatula, “Got banana pancakes, maple sausage and scrambled eggs cooking here,” he pointed, “All your favorites,” he said with the same genuine smile stuck to his face. The boy tried to remain very nonchalant and unimpressed in return, despite how touched as he really was by the redhead's thoughtfulness on the inside. 

“Thanks,” he replied simply, then pushed out his lip with a slight tip of his chin, “It'd probably taste better with a beer though,” Yevgeny added hopefully, but his father simply scoffed as he strode up behind the redhead to peer over his shoulder at the hot, popping pans full of food.

“You know the fuckin' rule,” said Mickey, “No booze before noon,” he reminded, “That shit don't change just ‘cause it's your birthday,” he said. 

Mickey then set his attention on Ian as he wrapped a single hand around his waist for just a second and pressed a small, sweet kiss into the back of his shoulder blade. The redhead smiled at that, shot him a small glance over his shoulder, then returned to cooking, scooping up a finished, goldened pancake and placed it on a plate on top of the counter. Mickey smiled as well, just before he let him go, then stepped around him to pour a cup of freshly brewed coffee. All the while Yevgeny just looked away and tried to hide his own frustrated frown. Then as his father placed a spoon inside his cup and began to stir it, he walked past Ian toward the table where his son sat and moved to take a seat beside him as he took a small sip. 

“We got some plans for ya later though,” Mickey revealed, “Down at the bar,” he said, to which the redhead at the stove creased his brow with curiosity. 

“We do?” Ian asked, causing the dark haired man to nod as he set his coffee cup down in front of him. 

“Yeah,” replied Mickey, then turned his face toward his son who appeared just as curious as the redhead was, “Your uncle Iggy's got somethin’ for ya,” he revealed, “S'pose to be meeting him down there later tonight,” said Mickey, to which his son merely raised an eyebrow. 

“What is it?” Yevgeny queried, but his father only shrugged as he swallowed another gulp of coffee.

“Fuck if I know,” said Mickey, setting his cup down on the table, “But it better be fuckin' good since he made my ass throw in on it too,” he insisted with an arched brow, then flashed Ian a small glance as the redhead brought their food over with a few empty plates for them to begin eating, tapping his fingers against his cup and looked back at Yevgeny. 

“Got somethin' for ya after breakfast too,” he added. His son raised both eyebrows with surprise, clearing having not expected to get much of any gifts for his birthday at all, let alone two and smirked just the slightest bit. 

“What's that?” Yevgeny asked with intrigue in his tone, though Mickey just screwed up his face a bit at the boy's pushiness and scoffed as he began filling his plate with food. 

“Can't you just wait for the fuckin' surprise?” his father asked back, then skewered a single sausage with his fork to take a bite, “Trust me, you'll like it,” Mickey assured, then chewed a bit and swallowed as Yevgeny began placing food onto his own plate as well and Ian took a seat across the table from them, “And if you don't, then I guess you're just an ungrateful little shit,” chuckled Mickey.

The redhead pushed a small, amused huff through his nose at that, glancing between them, but kept his mouth shut as he reached to arrange his own breakfast atop his plate. But Yevgeny said nothing, fighting the urge to roll his eyes again and set his focus on his food. Then together the three of them are, making quiet conversation and filling up their stomachs with the delicious breakfast Ian had made for them, but didn't say much more about Yevgeny's birthday, keeping their talk to other subjects that the boy didn't pay much attention to. He really just wanted to finish eating so he could see what it was his father and presumably Ian had gotten for him. 

The whole time Yevgeny also tried his best to ignore the redhead seated across from him, along with the dull, sweet ache he still felt in his ass from his toy session the night before, hoping that his face wasn't turning red each time he snuck a glance at the man. He still often wondered if the cloned cock he'd been slowly getting used to felt anything at all like the real thing, unable to stop himself from pondering on the thought as he chewed a bite of banana pancake and fought not to stare at Ian as he took a rather large bite from one of his sausage links. Yevgeny also didn't want his father to notice, didn't want him to catch him gazing, staring, silently letting his eyes trace ever so subtly over the thick, bulky muscles of Ian's chest and mostly just tried to keep his eyes down, feeling it much safer that way. 

Then before long all three of them finished eating and Ian stood first to collect their plates and other dishes, then his father shot him a small, almost excited smile as he downed the last sip of his coffee. Ian then walked down the hall for a moment, retrieving a sweatshirt and pulled it over his head to wear with a smile of his own stuck into his face, now eyeing both Mickey and Yevgeny quite expectantly, like he was ready for the young man to see his surprise. He crossed his arms over his chest, looking almost impatient, seeming to avoid turning his head to glance out the window, just as Yevgeny turned his own face to see his father still smiling at him as well, then stood up and gave his head a flick. 

“You ready for your birthday present now?” he wondered.

Yevgeny suddenly couldn't help but feel a little excited himself, especially after seeing both of their expressions peering down on him. He nodded a bit more enthusiastically than he normally would, hoping that for once this birthday would be special and they'd gotten him something nice, not that they hadn't done so in the past. But this felt a little different. He managed to smile along with them, then stood up as well, just as Mickey motioned for him to follow and began walking toward the door with Ian following quite happily behind them. 

Mickey led them all downstairs and into their apartment building’s parking lot to the normal space where he always parked his car, then slid his hand over the hood of the vehicle and up onto the roof as he paused beside it and turned around to meet his son's eyes with an expectant raise of his brow. Yevgeny paused his steps with a look of perplexity and confusion on his face, just as Ian crossed his arms back over his chest, grinned a little wider, then halted his steps beside him as well, looking him over to gauge the boy's reaction. He stared for a moment, trying to understand as he watched his father split a wider grin as well, tapping his fingers atop the roof of his beaten up little four door. Yevgeny then upturned both palms and gave a single shrug. 

“Why the fuck are we looking at your car right now?” he asked, his mind still lost as to what the fuck they were doing standing here. But his father merely held his expression and tipped his head to the side.

“You mean why the fuck are we looking at _your_ car?” corrected Mickey, then reached into his pocket with a slight metallic jingle, extracting a pair of keys, then tossed them out for the young man to catch, “Not mine anymore,” he said.

Yevgeny caught the keys and stared down at them for a moment with a crinkle in his brow, just as he heard the redheaded man beside him begin to chuckle, then looked back up at his father who now looked rather proud. 

“What?” Yevgeny blurted, causing the dark haired man to chuckle a bit as well. 

“It's yours,” Mickey informed him, “Thought you could use a set of wheels, so you're not stuck walking around every fuckin' where,” he grinned. His son stood there speechless and shocked, not yet making any move toward it, still simply staring with his mouth hung agape. 

“Really?” the boy asked in disbelief, watching as his father nodded, then gave the roof of the car a single insistent pat of his palm. 

“Fuck yeah,” he father replied, then turned his face toward the vehicle with a gesture toward it with his other hand, “Cleaned it all out for ya the other night, got it a fuckin' tune up yesterday and a full tank of gas,” Mickey continued to grin, “Even spent ten fuckin' bucks on a goddamn car wash,” he scoffed, then peered back over at his son, seemingly gauging his expression, trying to see whether he liked it or not. He tilted his head some, waiting for a response as Yevgeny stood in silence, then arched a single curious eyebrow. 

“So whatcha think, kid?” asked Mickey, to which his son remained paused, then narrowed his eyes a bit.

“I'm still not a kid,” Yevgeny reminded, causing the dark haired man to drop his hand from atop the car and scoffed once again. 

“Will you just say whether you fuckin' like it or not?” Mickey insisted, “Cause if not, I'll just take it right back,” he said. Yevgeny let his eyes travel across the vehicle, then dropped his gaze to the keys in his hand and hesitated again. 

“Don't you need it?” he asked, but his father simply gave his head a small shake. 

“Nah,” replied Mickey, then gave his head a pointed flick down the street, “The bar's only a couple fuckin' blocks away,” he said, then flashed a small glance toward the redhead who still stood beside his son, “And Ian and I have been saving up to get a different one anyway and we almost got enough,” he assured, to which Yevgeny turned his face to see Ian nodding with agreement, “So, we both thought you could have this one,” said Mickey. 

Yevgeny stayed quiet for another moment, still surprised by the gesture, the gift, that Ian and his father were actually giving him a car of his own, something that he’d wanted for at least the last two years. He was stunned to say the least and not quite sure what to say, how to accept it. But he wasn't about to turn it down either, letting his eyes scan over it's keys once more as he turned them over inside his hand, then looked back up to meet Mickey's eyes with a wide, grateful smile spreading across his face. 

“Okay,” Yevgeny accepted, causing his father to look quite proud again as his brow raised back up.

“Yeah?” said Mickey, earning him a firm, sure nod from the young man in front of him. 

“Yeah,” his son confirmed once more, “Fuck yeah,” Yevgeny emphasized happily as he squeezed the keys a little tighter, causing the tall redhead beside him to tip his face back with a laugh, then gave a confident point of his finger toward Mickey. 

“See, I told you he'd love it!” exclaimed Ian. 

Yevgeny watched his father smile quite thoughtfully, still appearing quite proud that his son had accepted his gift, that he genuinely seemed to like it and he couldn't help but smile back. Then he looked back at Ian who bore the very same expression with his chin held high and his shoulders set back. Yevgeny suddenly felt much fonder of the both of them, extremely appreciative for what they had given of him and wished he could find a way to show them how much it meant to him to receive it. Even though the particular capacity in which he felt for each man was very different, he still valued them both very much, especially now. And even though Yevgeny and his father may have their moments, their occasional ups and downs, he knew that he mattered to Mickey, perhaps even more than he ever had to his mother and during times like this, it really showed, and he wasn't going to take that for granted, even with the secret crush he still had on his partner. 

The boy took in a deep breath through his nose, then pushed it out, excited to take his new car for a drive around town, taking a few steps toward it as Mickey took a few steps forward as well to meet him. Their eyes met and Yevgeny pressed his smiling lips together tight, still trying to appear a bit nonchalant, even if he was still extremely excited on the inside and offered his father a very genuine expression of appreciation. 

“Thanks, dad,” he said, then extended his arms to give the man a hug, who accepted it quite easily and hugged him right back, giving his shoulder a slight rub of his palm and an affectionate pat as he did. 

“You're welcome, Yev,” replied Mickey, “You deserve it, man,” he said. Then Yevgeny let him go to peer down at the car once again as he held his smile, just before he raised an eyebrow and looked back at his father.

“How am I supposed to drive it without a license though?” he queried, to which Mickey simply tipped his head back with a laugh.

“Since when does a Milkovich need a fuckin' license to drive?” he asked back absurdly, then clapped his palm back down atop his shoulder, “Just keep an eye out for cops and you shouldn't have to worry about it,” said Mickey. The young man nodded at that, then pointed his brow down toward the car. 

“Can I take it for a spin now then?” Yevgeny asked excitedly and his father nodded. 

“Absolutely,” Mickey grinned, “Right after you get your fuckin' chores done,” he added, to which Yevgeny instantly groaned with displeasure. 

“Aw, come on, dad,” Yevgeny complained, “I'm eighteen now,” he reminded, “I shouldn't have fucking chores anymore,” he said, but Mickey just laughed again.

“Who the fuck are you kidding?” Mickey queried, “I don't give a shit how old you are,” he chuckled with a head shake, “You live in my fuckin' apartment, you get chores to do just like everybody else,” Mickey informed him bluntly, “Don't fuckin’ matter if today's your birthday or not. Shit still has to get done,” he said. His son frowned with a scowl and glared at his father, but Mickey didn't appear to be phased the slightest bit. 

“So go do the dishes, clean your fuckin' room and get the laundry together,” Mickey directed with a flick of his head, “After that, drive it all you fuckin' want to,” he said, causing the boy to groan once more, push a huff through his nose, then slowly turned around to do as he was told and shot Ian a small glance as he passed him, who bore an expression of agreement with Mickey. Then he frowned even further as he heard his father speak again as he walked back inside. 

“And I fuckin' mean it about that room, Yev!” he called, “Clean the shit, or I will,” said Mickey, “And if I end up doin' it, I'm throwing everything the fuck out!” he threatened with surety. 

Before recently, his father's threat probably wouldn't have mattered much to him, no matter how demeaning it seemed. But with Yevgeny's favorite new toy hidden under his bed, he'd rather not give the man any opportunity to find it, knowing already he'd be unable to live down the shame, embarrassment and humiliation of it's discovery. So as quickly as he could, Yevgeny made his way back up to their apartment to get to work on his chores. 

He worked quickly too, just wanting to finish everything so he could go for a drive and maybe meet up with a friend or two before he'd have to either come back home, or meet Mickey and Ian at the Alibi for whatever his uncle had planned for him later. He did the dishes first, getting them washed, dried and put away, then started searching through the apartment to gather laundry and sorted it all into loads. As he gathered clothing, towels and sheets, Yevgeny also came across a seemingly forgotten half pack of his father's cigarettes and grinned when he found them, stuffing them away inside his pants pocket. He also found a pocket knife of his that he hadn't seen in quite a long time and tucked that down inside of a pocket as well. 

Then he finally went to clean his room, tossing dirtied shirts and pants into his steadily growing laundry pile, but saved one of his pillowcases to use as a sort of wrap to better conceal his stolen dildo in, dropping it inside, wrapping it up, then pushed it deeper under his bed so it wouldn't accidentally be found. Yevgeny almost paused his work to take a break and use it, wanting to play with it a bit since today was a special occasion, but with Ian and his father still home just in another room, he decided against it, willing to wait until much later when they were both asleep. 

But he still couldn't stop himself from thinking about it as he tidied things up and sorted through his belongings, still curious about what the real thing might feel like. Yevgeny still half hoped that some day he might get the chance to find out, even if trying to figure out how to accomplish such a thing still felt like an impossible feat. Maybe eventually he would come up with something, some way to get Ian's attention and get the man to like him as much more than just the son of his partner, but just tried not to let figuring it out bother him any more right now. 

When Yevgeny was finally done with his chores, he exited his room, carrying the dirty clothes hamper with him out to the living room where Ian and his father sat rather closely on their couch watching a football game. He tried not to frown as he eyed the redhead's arm slung comfortably over Mickey's shoulders and his father's hand resting lightly atop the other man's kneecap, then set the hamper down with a heavy thud, turning both of their attentions toward him. 

“Shit's done,” Yevgeny announced, then gave a very lazy point of his thumb, “Can I leave now?” he asked. The two men seated on the couch exchanged a questioning glance before looking back toward him with their lips pressed together. 

“Hmm, I dunno, Yev,” said Mickey, the dropped his eyes toward the floor, “This room kinda looks like it use a fuckin' vacuum too,” he observed as Ian nodded at his words, causing the boy to tip his head back with a loud, irritated groan, then raised both hands up in frustration.

“Oh, come the fuck on!” Yevgeny grumbled, causing both men to begin laughing and Mickey offered a very loose, amused wave of his hand. 

“Alright, alright. Chill the fuck out,” Mickey chuckled, “We're just fuckin' with you, kid,” he grinned. But Yevgeny simply held his frown with slumped shoulders as he glared at them from across the room. 

The two men exchanged brief expressions of amusement just before the redhead removed his arm from Mickey's shoulders and stood up from the couch, the other man's hand slipping off from his knee. He crossed the room toward Yevgeny, then bent down to grasp the laundry basket and lifted it to take over for him. 

“It's cool, Yev,” Ian assured, “I'll do the vacuuming and get the laundry going,” he said, then flashed Mickey another small glance over his shoulder who sat back and nodded, just before he met the young man's eyes again, “Go break in your new ride,” he offered, turning Yevgeny's frown into a smile and he straightened back up a bit. 

“Thanks,” said Yevgeny, then reached down into his pocket to retrieve his car keys and began crossing the room toward the front door to slip on his shoes, preparing to leave, when his father suddenly halted his steps for a moment with a point. 

“Be careful,” Mickey advised, “And if you plan on picking up any slutty little bitches to bang in the backseat, for the love of fuckin' christ, wrap it up,” he directed, “I'm too fuckin' young to be raising half-skank bastard grandkids,” laughed Mickey, to which Ian chuckled as well, “And get to the bar by nine,” he added, “Gotta meet Iggy there for your other present,” he said. 

Yevgeny swallowed at that, but still managed to offer a very lazy eye roll as he nodded, then grabbed his sweatshirt off a hook beside the door and opened it to leave.

As he made his way back down the stairs to unlock a car that was now his very own, Yevgeny couldn't help but laugh at how clueless his father was, not that he'd given the man any reason to think differently. He was almost proud of himself for staying under the man's radar and remaining so elusive about the true, real preferences he had concealed inside, figuring that if anyone would figure out he was gay it would most definitely be either Ian or his father. But both men still seemed quite oblivious about it, which Yevgeny thought was probably better for him, especially considering how often he seemed to stare at the redhead particularly, even right in front of his father. Since Yevgeny still wasn't ready to reveal any of his secrets anyway, and wasn’t sure if he ever would at all, he wasn’t eager to correct the man any time soon. But that was okay with him too, for now anyway. 

Instead, Yevgeny climbed inside of his car, placed a single key inside it's ignition and gave it a twist to start, ready to get out of here, away from home, away from Mickey and Ian, to go relax a little bit and let loose for a while until he'd be forced to come back later. And he split another smile as he pulled out from the parking lot and began driving down the street, already knowing exactly who it was that he wanted to go and see.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Continuation of this fic will depend greatly on reaction and feedback.**  
> **Please don't hesitate to share your thoughts!**


	3. Chapter 3

For the last six years or so, Liam Gallagher had been a great friend to Yevgeny Milkovich. They'd met not too long after Ian had moved in to be with his father, helping the redhead carry in his belongings and few pieces of furniture. And even though they were a fair few years apart in age, the two had quite a lot in common and always gotten along pretty well. Yevgeny might have even considered Liam his best friend after everything he's done for him. 

More than once Liam had become somewhat of an escape for Yevgeny when he and his father got into an argument, or when he just needed to get away for a while. Since all of Liam's older siblings had moved out and into their own places around Southside, he was the only one left in their old house, often having the place to himself. But Liam also didn't really like being alone and often invited Yevgeny, along with a few other neighborhood teenagers over to keep him company, to hang out, the old Gallagher house often becoming the party house, especially on the weekends. Today was no different, and most especially with it being Yevgeny's birthday, quite a few of their friends had turned up to celebrate it with him.

When Yevgeny arrived, driving up in his new set of wheels and parking beside the curb out front, Liam was just as happy to see him as he always was, even a little surprised to see him drive up in a car and not approach on his feet like he had almost every day before. Then when he was invited inside, Liam immediately called a few other people over, offered Yevgeny a beer and broke out some weed to smoke with him as other people showed up. 

Over the years, the neighborhood had stayed pretty tight, especially between the Gallaghers, Milkoviches and the Balls/Fishers, since all of them had basically grown up together and became friends with each other as more years passed. Invited over today was Liam's niece Franny, along with Kev and Veronica's kids Amy, Gemma and Dominic, the last of whom was technically the son of Kev and Veronica's mother, but the three had still been raised together just like most any other siblings. Liam was the oldest of the group, almost twenty-three now, but it never seemed to make much difference when they all hung out together, having never really found anyone closer to his own age that he could relate with like he could with this particular group. His age also came in handy when everyone else was looking for booze, easily being able to buy it for them without the hassle of anyone asking their parents. Liam was also the only one able to get a hold of any decent weed, since his older brother Carl had the best connections and often dealt a rather wide array of drugs to people in the neighborhood. And since Liam was family, Carl often gave him a much better discount than he would for anyone else and in turn, he was able to get his friends a good discount too. 

This is exactly what Liam had done today, even gifting Yevgeny a rather hefty bag of some nice, primo bud to keep, and rolled up a few joints out of his own bag to share as they all sat together and drank, talked and laughed together, partying throughout the day and into the evening. The six of them had some music playing, with heavy bass booming loudly through the house as the girls took to dancing, and the guys sat around the coffee table in the living room, passing a weed pipe between them, already about halfway through their third case of beer. 

Dominic had even brought a big bottle of whiskey and poured a few celebratory shots for all of them to take, the group becoming quite comfortably inebriated. He also seemed to be watching Franny as she danced with his sisters, having always had a bit of a thing for her, but neither Liam or Yevgeny seemed to pay much attention to any of the girls, more interested in conversing with each other than ogling Amy and Gemma. All three girls kept glancing across the room though, making eyes at the birthday boy, subtly trying to get his attention with flirty smiles and rocking hips, but Yevgeny hardly noticed them at all, keeping his own eyes on Liam as he passed the smoldering weed pipe back over to him. 

“So they really gave you the car, huh?” Liam asked, “Like for good, not just to use?” he questioned as the young man beside him grasped the pipe and brought it to his lips with a nod. 

“Yeah,” Yevgeny replied, “I couldn't fucking believe it,” he said as he sucked in a thick puff of smoke, “My dad isn't exactly the giving type, ya know?” he added with an exhale as he passed the pipe to Liam, who scoffed at the comment, then laughed. 

“He gave you a place to fucking live when your mom ditched you,” he reminded, to which Yevgeny glared at him, then threw a kick into his leg. 

“Aye, shut the fuck up,” Yevgeny scowled, causing the other young man to simply laugh again, “You know what I mean,” he said, but Liam only shook his head. 

“I really don't though,” countered Liam, “He coulda just tossed your ass out into the street, but he didn't,” he smirked, “He gives a shit,” Liam insisted, “You just like to pretend that he doesn't,” he said, causing Yevgeny to be the one to scoff. 

“Whatever,” he said.

Liam took a pull from the pipe with another laugh, then coughed as he passed it to Dominic who took it, but still couldn't seem to take his eyes off of Franny as she danced with his sisters, simply mesmerized by the young girl as she rocked her hips to the music and twisted her body around with the beat. But then the young man who passed the pipe to him noticed his gaze, and promptly punched him in the arm and knocked him right out of his longing haze. 

“Hey man, you stare any fucking harder at my niece, I'm gonna have to shove my foot up your ass,” Liam threatened with a hard crease his brow, causing Dominic to finally look away as Yevgeny laughed, though he didn't appear very phased by the other man's warning. 

“She doesn't seem to mind my staring,” Dominic observed smugly, then flicked his lighter over the pipe to light and hit, “If she did, she could tell me to fuck off and I would,” he said as he held the smoke inside his lungs, “Fran doesn't need you fighting all her fucking battles for her,” he exhaled, then arched his eyebrow as he gave a pointed flick of his head across the room, “Besides, if you wanna make a pass at one of my nieces, have at it, man,” invited Dominic, to which Liam simply frowned and Yevgeny screwed his face up. 

“I thought they were your sisters?” wondered Yevgeny, which only earned him a quick and simple shrug.

“Technically sister-nieces,” confirmed Dominic, “Not really much of a difference though,” he said, and Liam laughed again. 

“With a family that fucked up, y'all should be living in a fucking trailer park,” quipped Liam, to which Yevgeny snorted, then chuckled, but Dominic just rolled his eyes. 

“Southside pretty much is one big fucking trailer park,” he agreed, “And neither of you are any different,” accused Dominic, then gave each of the other young men a point with his finger as the pipe got passed again. 

“Your dad's a drunken bum and your mom’s a fucking psycho,” Dominic chuckled, then turned his eyes on Yevgeny, “Yev's mom's a whore and his dad's a faggot,” he continued, to which Yevgeny simply offered a firm, swift middle finger, not at all liking either term one bit, but didn't make any attempt to argue with the truth either. He then peered back over at Liam and grinned, “A faggot who's been fucking your brother for longer than any of us have even been alive,” he added, causing the dark skinned man to simply roll his eyes at that. Though Yevgeny swallowed a bit uncomfortably, trying to conceal how much he disliked the reminder, and Dominic chuckled again as he took a sip from his beer, “And my mom and grandmother are the same fucking person,” he admitted easily, then set his beer down on the table in front of him.

“I'm amazed we're not all on Jerry fucking Springer,” he laughed loudly, causing the other two young men to laugh along with him, just before the birthday boy turned his eyes down to light the pipe again as he raised it back up to his lips, willing to distract himself and move past their current conversation. But Dominic didn't quite seem ready to let up just yet.

“Seriously though, take your pick,” Dominic insisted, then met Yevgeny's eyes, “I know Gemma's always had the biggest fucking crush on you anyway, man,” he said. 

Yevgeny raised an eyebrow, then turned his face and tried very subtly to peer across the room where the three girls were still laughing and dancing together, noticing that Gemma did indeed seem to be peeking over toward him as well. She smiled when she noticed him looking at her, then twisted her body around again, rolling her hips to the music, seemingly trying to lure him into coming over, hoping it would keep his attention on her. Yevgeny swallowed again and looked away. 

As flattered as he was, he could honestly say that he wasn't even the slightest bit interested in the girl, or any girl really not matter how sweet or pretty she was, but he still wasn't sure how, nor was he ready to voice that aloud. Instead he just tried to save face a little bit, but didn't appear very excited about the girl's interest in him either, merely giving a rather vague, uncommitted tip of his chin and shrugged a single shoulder. 

“Yeah, she's cool, I guess,” Yevgeny offered with a bit of a mumble, to which the girl's brother-uncle just chuckled him. 

“Well, that was convincing,” Dominic mentioned rather sarcastically, but before Yevgeny could say anything more, Liam spoke up instead. 

“Maybe she just isn't Yev's type,” he said, which relieved Yevgeny quite a bit, until spoke a little further as he glanced back toward him and met his eyes again, “But you might not ever know if you don't give her a try,” Liam added with smug, expectant gaze, but the other young man just hesitated for a second, then dropped his eyes and shook his head a bit. 

“I dunno, man,” Yevgeny replied, “I'd kinda just rather smoke some weed and drink my beer right now,” he explained honestly, then reached to take a sip from his bottle, swallowing and passed the pipe to Liam as he shrugged again, “Maybe another time,” he said, hoping that would finally be the end of it, but the universe seemed set on testing his patience. 

“Looks like the time is now,” Liam pointed, turning Yevgeny's attention back across the room to see Gemma whisper something to both the other girls, who then smiled as she parted with them and began walking toward where he sat on the couch, “Go for it, man,” Liam advised, “It's your fucking birthday,” he reminded, seemingly trying to convince him to just go along with it. But Yevgeny couldn't feel much more than sheer dread rising into his throat as Gemma walked closer and paused beside the couch, his eyes slowly moving back up to her face and watching as she smiled down at him with a sweet, flirty face. 

“Happy birthday, Yev,” Gemma smiled as she rested her hand along the back of the couch behind his head, “You look so much more grown up than you did the last time I saw you,” she said, though Yevgeny simply screwed up his face at how ridiculous the comment was. 

“You just saw me a week ago,” Yevgeny replied, “And you're only a couple months younger than I am,” he said, “I'm sure I don't look that different,” he assured flatly, but Gemma didn't appear very bothered, giggling at his reply and holding her smile as she batted her eyes at him. 

“Still,” she said, then moved her hand from the back of the couch to give his shoulder the slightest affectionate rub, “You look handsome today,” Gemma complimented sweetly. Yevgeny shifted awkwardly, but tried to his best to appear unbothered by her touch. 

“Well, thanks,” he said, then leaned forward to grab his beer again, casually sliding her hand off of him because he still really didn't care what she thought of his appearance but the young girl didn't seem to be taking the hint. 

“I have a present for you,” Gemma revealed with a twinkle in her eye, “But I can't show it to you here,” she added, turning the young man's eyes back over to her with a very uncomfortable feeling beginning to churn inside his stomach, “Will you come upstairs with me?” asked Gemma, her long, dark lashes fluttering over her eyes as they slowly traced down over his body. 

But before Yevgeny could think of a way to turn her down or even begin to react at all to her invitation, both Liam and Dominic had already turned to him with smug, knowing smiles pressed into their faces, with one wagging his eyebrows and the other nudging him with an insistent, urging elbow against his side. And even though Yevgeny really didn't want to go, suddenly becoming quite uncomfortable from the girl's offer all over again, he didn't really feel like he had much room to say no either. He didn't want to appear a prude or a wimp, and he definitely didn't want the secret of his personal preferences to be exposed, at least not yet and not in this way. So reluctantly, Yevgeny turned his face back to Gemma and forced himself to smile, then tipped his chin up toward her and very slowly stood to follow her upstairs, despite his better judgement. 

As he made his way up the steps, following close behind Gemma who lead him with her hand rather tightly within his own, he silently cursed both himself and his fucking friends for putting him in such a position, not yet knowing quite what to expect as the pair entered the bedroom and the far and of the hall and the girl shut the door behind them. Yevgeny already had a feeling that whatever was going to happen wasn't going to turn out very good, but he already felt much too deep within his predicament to turn back now, slowly letting his eyes travel around the tiny little room, then settle on the bed along the wall. He swallowed again, hoping to force down the sizzling knot of nerves that suddenly felt stuck inside his throat, but it seemed easier said than done. This was going to be tough. 

Gemma smiled again as she pulled the door shut, then took a few short steps to walk past him with her eyes still batting at him all the while and sat down on the bed, leaving just enough space beside her for Yevgeny to sit as well. But the young man who stayed still where he stood didn't quite move yet, still trying to gather enough of courage to simply go through with this and not chicken out, no matter what it was Gemma planned on giving him. Though Gemma didn't seem to notice his hesitation much at all, slowly rubbing her lips together with a slick, slippery slide of her lip gloss and reached a single hand down to the spot beside her, patting it lightly as if inviting him to sit. Yevgeny took a slow deep breath and forced himself to smirk at her, trying to appear calm and interested, and hoping that it kept his nerves hidden as he very slowly crossed the space to take his spot beside her. Gemma turned to face him a little better, then dropped a single hand to rest on his leg and squeezed. 

“You know, Yev,” she began, “I've liked you for a really long time,” said Gemma, “But I've just never really had the guts to say anything,” she confessed quietly, “I really want you to know now though,” she said, “I really like you a lot,” Gemma smiled. 

Yevgeny stayed silent for a second with another powerful course of nerves trembling through his veins, not really knowing how to respond or what she expected him to say back. But as much as he didn't want to lie to her, he didn't quite have the courage to be completely honest either. It wasn't that he didn't like Gemma as a person, or that he didn't enjoy her company, because he did, but only as a friend. The fact that she was a girl was another obvious reason that he simply didn't have any interest in her in that way, though Yevgeny wasn't yet brave enough to explain that, not now, and not to her, especially with the way she was confiding in him that she liked him as much more than just a friend. He didn't want to hurt her feelings or crush her confidence, even if that meant not being truthful with her. Instead Yevgeny decided to just sort of go along with it, because he was still much too afraid for anyone to think anything otherwise. He smiled at her again, still desperately trying to conceal his true feelings, then dropped his own hand on top of hers, lacing their fingers together and grasping it lightly as he met her eyes within the quiet. 

“I like you a lot too, Gemma,” Yevgeny said, not completely lying in his statement, “I think you're a really cool girl,” he admitted honestly, letting the pad of his thumb rub every so softly over hers, “I just don't really date,” he added, “So, I'm not really looking for anything like that,” he said, really not wanting to lead her on in any way. Though Gemma didn't seem very disappointed. 

“Neither am I,” she agreed, surprising Yevgeny a little bit, but then her hand grasped his leg a bit tighter and she seemed to lean a little closer as her gaze fell to rest upon his lips, “But that doesn't mean that we can't have fun,” flirted Gemma, pulsing the swarm of nerves that were clogged inside his throat, “What do you think of that?” she asked as her eyes fluttered back up with a glossy, lusty haze within their gaze.

Yevgeny tried again to swallow, but couldn't quite manage, focusing on not backing away, not looking like a bitch that couldn't handle intimate contact. Not only did none of his friends or family know that he was gay, but none of them knew that he was a virgin either, something that was just as much a deep hidden secret as his sexuality was. It wasn't necessarily for lack of trying though, Yevgeny just hadn't ever found that kind of connection with someone, nobody that he wanted to share that part of himself with. But since he was still trying to save face, still trying to put on a show and act like something that he wasn't, he had no plans on bringing it up right now either. Instead, Yevgeny was committed to simply stay the course, to push himself to get through this, no matter how extremely uncomfortable it might make him. He just didn't know what else to do. Yevgeny then leaned in a little closer himself and locked eyes with Gemma as convincingly as he could, then licked his lips as his voice fell low. 

“I'd like that a lot,” he lied. 

Then with that Gemma almost instantly closed the space to kiss him, softly and slowly, and Yevgeny just tried to move his lips enough to make it seem like he'd done this all before, even if he hadn't kissed a single fucking person since his best friend in kindergarten. He just tried to go along with it, hoping that the alcohol they'd both consumed would help him hide his lack of experience, even if he honestly still didn't know what the fuck he was doing. 

Gemma's lips were plump and soft, but the sickeningly sweet aroma of the strawberry scent within her lip gloss was distracting and hard for him to ignore as it wafted off of her mouth and tickled at his nose. Though Yevgeny still tried, closing his eyes and kissing her back, willing to force himself not to stop as he felt her hand slowly begin traveling further up his leg, refusing to stiffen as it grasped onto his thigh. 

The kiss quickly turned quite sloppy as Gemma parted her lips and pushed her tongue inside his mouth. Yevgeny just kept trying to reciprocate, even if it was becoming increasingly more difficult to do, mirroring the movements of her lips and tongue to the best of his ability. But as her hand shifted upward even further, he suddenly became much more nervous about what she was reaching for, knowing she was probably expecting him to be hard, though he was anything but. So as he closed his eyes, he tried again, attempting to set his mind elsewhere and imagine something else that might work to get his body to become more responsive to her touches. 

Yevgeny thought of deep, green eyes, pale, freckled skin and bright red hair. He thought of thick, meaty muscles and the deep, vibrating voice of what a very particular man might sound like moaning softly in his ear. Yevgeny imagined Ian kissing him, touching him, in much the same way he would during his private moments alone, and it seemed to be working, slowly getting a rise out of his cock and he internally pushed away the sensations of Gemma's lips and hands against his body. The booze he'd drank was also seeming to help, finding it much easier than he expected for his mind to escape and travel away from where it was a moment ago. Then before long, his cock fully hardened, just before Gemma's hand found it beneath the denim of his jeans and began caressing her palm against it as Yevgeny's eyes closed a little tighter. 

He exhaled as he tried to keep his mind focused on the illusion that had taken control of his body, still picturing the tall, handsome redhead that he lived with, that he admired and infatuated and used the mental image to fool Gemma into believing his body's reaction to her touches were actually meant for her. But then Yevgeny felt her body shift beside him and her lips disappeared from his, causing his eyes to flutter open just a bit and he peeked down to see what Gemma was doing. 

She'd suddenly moved off the bed and was now kneeling between his knees on the floor, then lifted her face back up to look at him a but questioningly as her fingers began slowly fumbling with the zipper and button of his jeans. Yevgeny was still nervous as he took another deep breath, struggling not to let it tremble, but merely closed his eyes again as Gemma turned her face back down. He tipped his head back a bit, willing the very same images he'd been using back into his mind, silently trying to accept what was coming even if this wasn't exactly the way he wanted it to happen. Yevgeny also figured such a thing was bound to happen to his sooner or later, though he wasn't expecting this to be how. But he was still too nervous and stubborn to stop her, hoping that as long as he kept his eyes closed and imagined the act being performed on him by someone else, perhaps he could get through it, maybe even enjoy it, as long as he tried hard enough. 

Yevgeny felt the girl's hands open his pants and pull out his cock, just before he felt a tight, wet heat engulf him, sucking over the tip, then lowering over his length, and his legs shook as the sensation enclosed around him with an indescribable pleasure. He felt a lot better than he thought it would, especially because in his mind, it wasn't Gemma sucking his cock, but Ian, still just Ian, thinking just how good the other man would look settled between his knees with Yevgeny's shaft pushed down his throat. Then for a few minutes, he actually enjoyed it quite a bit, his breath falling heavy and small, pleasurable moan began slipping out through his lips. But then he got a little carried away, wanting to touch the man he had in his head, feeling an unrelenting urge to reach down and grasp his hand through bright red hair, when instead his fingers met the thick, curly locks of Gemma's hair instead. 

Yevgeny's eyes flashed open at the realization, the wonderful arousing image of Ian that he'd concocted inside his head instantly melting away and he turned his face back down to see Gemma sucking him off instead. Almost immediately, he felt his stomach twist and tighten, nearly repulsed by the view of a girl with wet, puckered lips slicked around his cock and he felt his erection begin to wilt as reality set in. 

Then Yevgeny suddenly felt panicked, knowing that Gemma would notice his sudden loss of blood flow within just a few short seconds and didn't want to be exposed, found out, or perhaps even ridiculed for it afterward. So, then in a rather pathetic attempt to find an escape, he flashed his eyes toward the clock atop the little end table beside the bed, just before he grasped the base of his cock and pulled it away from Gemma as he quickly stood up and tucked himself away. 

“Uh, hey, look-I'm sorry,” Yevgeny fumbled awkwardly, “That was good, really good, but I uh,” he tried not to stutter, “I gotta go,” he said, “Gotta meet my dad down at the Alibi and if I don't leave now, I'll be late and he's gonna kick my ass,” Yevgeny explained, not completely lying, but he still didn't hesitate to use such a thing as a hopefully reasonable excuse to get the fuck out there. Gemma wiped her mouth, then sat back on the floor looking appalled and offended that he was actually going to leave her like this, right in the middle of her giving him his supposed birthday present. 

“Are you fucking serious?” Gemma glared incredulously, “You'd rather fucking leave than let me suck your dick?” she accused. Yevgeny shook his head as he adjusted himself and zipped his jeans back up.

“No, it's not like that,” Yevgeny tried, wobbling on his feet a little bit as the beer in his stomach suddenly made him feel a little woozy, “I just- I just gotta go,” he said, then turned as quickly as he could to open the door, step out from the room and practically ran back down the stairs.

When he entered the living room to find all four teenagers he'd left there all seated around the coffee table, taking a few shots and passing a freshly packed pipe of weed between them, they all turned their head to see him emerge from the stairway with looks of surprise etched across their faces. The two girls giggled while the two boys looked a little confused, then Dominic arched a curious eyebrow at him. 

“Done already?” he asked, the sudden appearance of Yevgeny obviously being quite unexpected, to which Liam tipped his chin as well and let out a laugh. 

“Yeah,” Liam agreed, then he shrugged, “I mean, I've heard the rumors about Gemma, but damn!” he exclaimed, to which the boy beside him twisted his head around toward him, then punched him in the arm. 

“Hey, that's my fucking sister you're talking about,” defended Dominic, but Liam only rolled his eyes. 

“You didn't give a shit ten fucking minutes ago,” Liam countered, “So don't act like you care now,” he said, causing the other boy to simply flick him off.

Yevgeny paused at the base of the stairway with an uncomfortable churning feeling still swirling around inside his guts and splayed a single hand out along the wall to steady himself as he gave his head a flick. 

“I gotta head out to the Alibi,” Yevgeny said as he met Liam's eyes, “Supposed to be meeting my dad and your brother there,” he informed, then swallowed a bit, really just wanting to leave, especially now that he suddenly physically felt like shit, “Wanna come with?” he asked. 

Liam looked him over as if he were studying him, like he was trying to find some hidden, underlining feeling behind his words, behind his suddenly unusual posture and demeanor, but he couldn't seem to find anything very telling. He then turned his face back to Dominic, who didn't seem to mind, then to Franny and Amy, neither of whom seemed to mind very much either, just before he turned his face back to Yev. 

“Sure,” Liam replied, then began to stand up, “Let's go,” he said, causing Yevgeny to nod and take another swaying step toward the front door, but Liam stopped him. 

“Maybe I should drive though,” he offered, seeing that his friend was obviously a bit drunker than he first appeared to be, “Gimme your keys,” said Liam.

Yevgeny accepted and didn't argue, dropping one hand down toward his pocket and fishing them out to hand over. Liam took them from him, still appearing to study him somewhat as he did, even wrapping a single arm around his shoulders to help him toward the door. He then turned his face back a final time to the small group of teenagers still seated in his living room and gave a firm, sharp point toward Dominic on the couch. 

“And I still mean it,” Liam warned, “You lay a single fucking finger on my niece, I'm gonna rearrange your fucking teeth,” he said. 

Dominic laughed, lifted both palms very sarcastically in defense as Franny merely giggled and flipped her hair at her brother with her hand she turned her face away. Liam then dropped his hand, put his attention back onto his drunken friend, and helped him through the door to walk outside, climb inside Yevgeny's car, and drove him down to the bar to meet his dad.


	4. Chapter 4

On their way to the Alibi, Liam had to pull over twice for Yevgeny to throw up. Yev didn't know if it was because of the booze he'd drank, the unsettling swarm of nerves that had gathered inside his guts, or the suddenly horrified realization he'd had opening his eyes to see Gemma going down on him. But whatever it was had turned his insides and twisted them into a knot, unable to stop himself from spewing his guts all over the street. And though he felt a little better physically by the time they'd arrived, Yevgeny still didn't feel any better emotionally, especially feeling like shit after what happened with Gemma, for leading her on the way he had. Though that was something he knew he'd rather just deal with later and forget about for now. 

When the pair pulled up to the curb outside of the bar, Yevgeny groaned as he exited the car and rounded it onto the sidewalk, simply feeling miserable, but hoping it would pass. He really didn't want either his dad or Ian to notice him in such a disheveled state, straightening up, ruffling his hair out, then gave his face a quick, firm rub as he tried to collect himself. Liam offered just to take him straight home instead, but he'd declined, not wanting to give his father any reason to be worried or disappointed in him for not showing up. Yevgeny also didn't want to stand up his uncle Iggy, who happened to be one of his favorite relatives and was actually quite looking forward to seeing him, along with whatever it was he planned on gifting him. So he simply raised his chin, rolled his shoulders back, then with Liam by his side, still keeping a rather close eye on him, he walked as casually as he could toward the entrance and slipped inside the bar. 

As he entered, Yevgeny was immediately met with the usual drunken audience that frequented the Alibi, faces that he'd grown up seeing for most of his life, regular patrons that were always there, along with a few other faces that he usually only saw on special ocassions. Besides Ian's father Frank sitting at the bar, who Yevgeny was always surprised to see hadn't keeled over yet, Kev was also there, the previous owner of the bar, but absent his wife Veronica, which seemed a little odd, though he didn't pause to question it. He also saw his uncle Iggy working behind the bar, pouring a shot for Yevgeny's aunt Mandy who had also turned up to help him celebrate his birthday. There was also two of Ian's other brothers, Carl and Lip, neither of which ever turned down the chance for a free drink or a party who were seated on either aide of their drunken father, nursing beers and talking over the shoulders of his slumping, drunken form. 

Then finally Yevgeny saw his father who was playing pool alongside a tall, handsome redhead whom the sight of which always fluttered the heartbeat inside the boy's chest, but tried not to stare as he saw his father pause with a pool stick in his hand when he caught sight of his son walking through the door. Mickey split a smile then whispered something to Ian with a gesturing flick of his head, who paused as well from the shot he was about to make, and together both men split wide, welcoming smiles as they leaned their pool sticks against the wall beside the table. 

Yevgeny forced himself to smile back, still trying to ignore the queasy discomfort in his guts, then made a step to walk toward them, just as Liam grasped a palm atop his shoulder to stop him from swaying too much as he did. He saw his father crease his brow with a slight bit of concern, then quickened his steps toward him and reached out a singke hand to grab his other shoulder. 

"The fuck's up with you, kid?" Mickey asked, "You feelin' okay?" Yevgeny straightened up his posture and tried his best to appear completely normal. 

"I'm fine, dad," he replied, but Mickey didn't look very convinced, nor did Ian who had walked up to him as well bearing a mirroring expression on his face. 

"You don't look very fine," his father observed, then shot a glare toward Liam, "You been letting him drink too fuckin' much?" Mickey accused, to which the other young man quickly shook his head. But Mickey's glare didn't fade a single bit, even pressing his lips together in a very flat, unconvinced manner, then reached out to swat a quick, rough smack over the back of Liam's head, "You think I'm fuckin' stupid?" Mickey barked as the younger man began to rub a palm over the spot he'd struck. Then he gestured toward his son, "Look at him," he said, "Why the fuck couldn't you two wait to drink until you got here?" he asked, then looked back at his son, "Iggy's got a keg with your fuckin' name on it and you show up already fuckin' drunk?" Mickey spat with disappointment, then widened his eyes a bit, "You didn't fuckin' drive like this, did you?" he wondered with the slightest lacing of outrage in his tone, but Liam much more firmly shook his head again. 

"No," Liam assured, "I drove him here," he said, then turned his eyes onto his sickly friend, "I offered to bring him home, but he insisted on coming here first," explained Liam, to which Yevgeny then stood up a little straighter and very frustratingly shook both of the men's hand off of his shoulders with a thick huff of annoyance. 

"I told you both, I'm fucking fine!" Yevgeny insisted harshly, firmly, frowning at both Liam and his father, "I just need a beer and a cigarette," he said, "So where's this fucking keg?" he asked with a raise of his arms and a searching glance around the bar, causing his father to laugh a bit, seemingly amused yet reassured that his son was okay and offered him an approving tip of his chin. 

"That's my boy," Mickey grinned, then reached into his pocket to retrieve his cigarette pack, opening it up and offering one to Yevgeny just as he turned his face away to call to his brother behind the bar, "Yo, Iggs!" he hollered as his son took the cigarette, "Tap the fuckin' keg! Your nephew's finally here!" Mickey yelled happily. The young blonde man lit his cigarette and pulled a deep drag as he turned his face in the same direction, seeing his uncle meet his eyes with a rather happy grin of his own. 

"Aye! Happy fucking birthday, Yev!" Iggy greeted, "Come sit down and I'll get you a cold one!" he said, to which Yevgeny tipped his chin in agreement, then pointed to his friend beside him with his thumb. 

"One for Liam too," Yevgeny directed, earning him another chin tip as Iggy pulled two clean glasses out from behind the bar and filled each one to the brim with frothy, bubbly suds. 

He flashed his eyes toward Liam who looked a little unsure at Yevgeny's willingness to continue drinking but didn't question him or make any attempt to stop him, remaining by his side as they approached the bar and sat down in front of their glasses. Ian and his father followed for a moment with much more relaxed expressions than they had a moment ago and Mickey tapped his knuckles atop the bar as the redhead leaned against it between them. 

"Two more fuckin' shots," Mickey ordered, causing his brother to meet his eyes. 

"You faggots got money?" Iggy asked teasingly, earning him two swift middle fingers from the pair awaiting their booze and Yevgeny just tried to ignore the way his body stiffened rather uncomfortably at the word. 

"It's our fuckin' bar, shithead," Mickey reminded flatly, and Iggy laughed, "Just pour the fuckin' shots," he directed, then shot his son a small smile just before a flashed a much more intimate one toward Ian that Yevgeny just tried to ignore as he looked away to drink his beer, "We're celebrating tonight," he said. Iggy scoffed with an eyeroll, then very obediently did as he was told and poured two large shots of whiskey for Ian and Mickey, then turned his face back to Liam and Yevgeny. 

"You fuckers want shots too?" he asked. But just before either man could reply, two more faces sat down on the stools beside them. 

"Hey, do I get some kinda friends and family discount?" Lip asked, to which Iggy simply frowned. 

"You're not my friend or my fucking family, asshole," Iggy replied, then proceeded to pour the two shots to the young men he'd offered them to without waiting for their answer, but Lip wasn't giving up that easy. 

"Well, our brothers have been fucking each other for like two fucking decades, so I'd say that kinda does make us family," retorted Lip, though the man behind the bar just continued to stare at him in a very unimpressed way, making absolutely no move to pour him anything, just before another voice spoke instead. 

"What about me?" Carl queried, to which Iggy paused, then arched an interested eyebrow. 

"Depends," said Iggy, "You got any weed?" he asked. Carl parted his lips to speak, but was almost instantly interrupted by Mickey pointing a finger at his brother. 

"Only fuckin' take cash!" Mickey interjected sternly. 

But Iggy sort of just ignored him, still looking at Carl quite expectantly, waiting, as the younger man flashed a glance toward Mickey to see him down his shot and was now walking back over to the pool table with his redheaded older brother, no longer paying any of them any attention at all. He then gave a small nod and pulled a bag of weed out of his pocket, opened it and held a decently sized bud up to exchange for a shot, which Iggy easily traded one for with a wide, satisfied grin spreading across his face. 

Lip frowned with disappointment as he watched his younger brother swallow a sharp shot of whiskey, then frustratingly reached for his wallet within his pocket. He then threw down a single bill and tapped the bar top with his knuckle, urging Iggy to just take his money and pour him one too. 

"The booze here is shitty anyway," Lip said, though the fact didn't seem to stop him from paying for it and downing a shot of his own as soon as Iggy poured it. 

"Tell that shit to Mickey and you'll never fucking drink here again," Iggy threatened, cauaing both Liam and Yevgeny to laugh as they tipped their heads back to drink their own booze, then saw Iggy scrunch his face as he set the bottle back in it's place, "Aye, ain't you supposed to be sober now or some shit?" Iggy asked, but Lip just shrugged as he swallowed his shot.

"Not lately," replied Lip, "But I always find the best time to contemplate sobriety is while nursing a hangover," he added, "So I'll think about it again tomorrow," he said, then tapped the bar once more, silently asking for another. 

Liam laughed again with a shake of his head as Iggy complied and poured more whiskey into the little, round glass in front him, but Yevgeny couldn't help but look away with disinterest, his eyes traveling across the room to where Ian and his father stood again playing pool. He watched as Ian leaned over the table to line up his pool stick with the corner pocket and made a shot that knocked the ball right into it, then stood back up with a cocky grin as he gazed over at Mickey beside him. He saw his father smirk, then moved over to step around him, his free hand gliding softly over Ian's shoulder blade as he peered down to study the table, looking for a shot of his own to make.

Then when he found one and leaned forward, Yevgeny couldn't even begin to control the twinge of jealousy he felt in his gut as he saw the way Ian looked at him, with deep green eyes moving rather appealingly over the form of his body. Ian was checking his father out without a care in the world at who saw him do it and Yevgeny just frowned, absolutely hating that look on his face and wishing deep down that just once, the redhead might look at him like that instead. 

He chewed his lip, then raised his beer glass to his lips to take a sip and looked away, not wanting to observe the comfortable happiness between the pair for a single second longer and instead turned his face back toward Liam who was still sitting obliviously beside him. Yevgeny sucked in a other drag from his cigarette, then nudged his friend with his elbow to offer over. Liam took it and raised it to his lips as well, then exhaled. 

"Sobriety is for Islamists and newborn babies," a groggy voice suddenly grumbled from a few seats down the bar, catching all of their attentions and turning their heads to see a very particular drunken homeless man slurring his words as he lifted his face, "And since you're neither, drink up, my son," Frank urged with a point of his finger, then grasped his own beer glass to mumble against the rim, "Although, if those radicalized towel heads just had a goddamn drink once in a while, maybe they wouldn't be so eager to blow themselves up," he added as he took a sip, but most of the other men just sighed and simply rolled their eyes. 

"Shut up, Frank," said Carl, "No one wants to hear your bullshit." 

"I speak the truth," Frank persisted with another enibriated slur, "But don't mind me. I'm just here for the party like everyone else," he said. 

"A party that you weren't fucking invited to," Iggy informed flatly, but Frank didn't seem very bothered by that. 

"Of course I was," he countered, then looked down the bar at Yevgeny and gestured toward him with a tip of his brow, "Junior here is practically my grandson," Frank said, "So what kinda birthday celebration would be complete without his grandfather in attendance?" he wondered, but the blonde man behind the bar just scoffed. 

"His real grandfather's dead," Iggy informed, knowing that Terry had passed away quite a long time ago and Svetlana's father was some unknown Russian nobody, "And isn't Ian technically your nephew?" he asked, but the older man just scrunched his face a bit with a shrug.

"Tomato, tomahto," Frank offered with an uncommitted wave of his palm. 

Yevgeny just stared at the old man for a moment, having had quite a few interactions with him throughout his life, not to mention knowing quite a bit about Frank from all of the stories he'd heard from both Ian and Liam, and raised a single eyebrow as he met the man's eyes. 

"If I'm your grandson, how fucking old am I?" Yevgeny queried, to which the other man blinked with a blank, unknowing expression pulling at his face, then raised his nearly emptied beer glass. 

"Old enough to get your grandfather another beer," Frank declared, causing Yevgeny to scoff as he turned his face away, meeting Carl's eyes instead. 

"He doesn't know how old any of us are either," offered Carl. 

The comment made Iggy laugh, just before his attention was caught again by a tall, bulky body reaching a single arm around to the back of the bar to grasp a different bottle of booze. The blonde man halted the limb with a firm grasp around it's wrist, then glared into the face of the body attached to it. 

"Aye, what the fuck do you think you're doing?" Iggy barked, causing the previous bar owner Kev, to suddenly look quite guilty, but rather unashamed as well. 

"I bought this bottle and no one ever drinks from it anyway," Kev explained, but Iggy wasn't letting it slide. 

"When you sold the fucking bar, you sold all the booze in it too," he informed sternly, "If you want the bottle, then you fucking pay for it," said Iggy, just before he flashed a glance toward Yevgeny who avoided both their eyes and tried to act like Kev's daughter didn't just have his cock in her mouth just a short while before, then looked back at Kev, "Might wanna save your singles though," he advised, "The entertainment should be here soon," he said.

A very intrigued brow crease split through faces of nearly every man in the bunch, though the birthday boy was just confused by that, swallowing a nervous gulp of beer and trying not to visibly freeze at his uncle's words. Then Lip leaned forward with a curious gaze just as Kev let the bottle go and Iggy released his wrist. 

"What kinda entertainment?" he asked, but then the question was answered for him when the door of the Alibi suddenly swung back open.

When Yevgeny turned his head toward the sound, he immediately swallowed again as the men beside him began to cheer at the sight of two thin waisted, large breasted women in short, thin leather coats that barely fell past their asses began walking into the bar. One had long, straight bleached blonde hair and plump pink lips with black thigh high boots on her legs, while the other had thick, curly red hair and a pouted pucker that matched and clear pair of platform heels on her feet. It was at that moment that both Yevgeny and the others suddenly realized exactly what kind of entertainment Iggy had been referring too, and Yevgeny's stomach instantly began to twist and churn again in a very uncomfortable way. This was going to be a fucking disaster, he already knew.

"Evening ladies," Iggy greeted smoothly, "Can I offer either one of you fine babes a shot before the show starts?" he asked, earning him sly, flirtatious smirksand nods from the two women as they made their way inside. 

Almost instantly Yevgeny turned back around in his seat and practically guzzled down his beer, trying to avoid making any eye contact with the two strippers that had just entered the bar. He then reached over to grasp Liam's beer as well and gulped that one down too, the young man beside him not seeming to mind enough to stop him, merely shooting him a small, curious glance as he swallowed the glass of suds. Yevgeny flashed his eyes toward his uncle to see him pouring the women a pair of small whiskey shots as the other men nearby oggled them, staring hard at them both as hungry, eager eyes began to gaze down over their figures. But then he jumped a bit as he heard his father's voice suddenly bark out from across the room. 

"Aye!" Mickey called as hid attention was pulled up from the pool table with a confused and incredulous expression split across his face, "What the fuck is this shit?" he asked absurdly. The man's brother turned his face just as the two skimpily dressed women tipped their heads back toward swallow their complimentary booze and split a smirk.

"Entertainment," Iggy replied simply, "My birthday present to Yev," he added as Mickey approached the bar and arched an eyebrow. 

"This is the shit you had me throw in on?" Mickey queried, looking them over in a very unimpressed manner, "A pair of skanky fuckin' go-gos?" he gestured with a swat of his hand, though neither woman seemed to mind the term a bit, merely laughing at the comment as they enjoyed the gazes of the other men still heavy on their skin. Suddenly Frank lifted his head back up from it's puddle atop the bar and opened his eyes as he perked up his posture. 

"Somebody say go-gos?" he slurred, then smirked with a stubbly, drunken grin when his eyes landed on the two women nearby. Iggy shrugged.

"These two had the highest rates, so I figured they'd be worth it," Iggy explained, "And I mean, what kinda dude wouldn't like a couple of sexy ladies dancing on him for his birthday?" he wondered, then tilted his head when he noticed Mickey's very flat, unenthusiastic expression, "Well except maybe you and Ian," he added with a head flick. 

Yevgeny glanced across the room to where Ian stood watching and saw him laugh at Iggy's comment, then looked back down at his empty glass and gave it a tap with his finger. 

"Can I get another?" he asked, hoping that if maybe he could get plastered as soon as possible, it might make enduring the next few hours a little more bearable. His uncle gave a nod and immediately took his beer glass and began to fill it up again. 

"Sure thing, birthday boy," Iggy replied happily, "You can have as many as you want," he said, then placed a fresh one back in front of him as he turned his face back to the two women beside the bar. 

"You ladies ready to dance?" Iggy queried, then pointed a finger toward the young blonde man who was already making quick work of chugging down another drink, "We got a birthday boy over here for ya," he said, to which Yevgeny tried not to choke on his gulp and gave his head a quick shake.

"You guys go ahead," Yevgeny offered, now pulling a thick drag from his cigarette, then quickly tried to explain his reluctance when he noticed the odd, questioning expressions the other man gave him, "I wanna see if they're worth it first before I bother," he said, to which Lip instantly fished his wallet back out and raised up a few bills. 

"I got the first dance then if Yev doesn't want it," he grinned as he eyed the redheaded woman beside him, causing Kev to quickly speak up as well. 

"Over here, Sweetie," Kev said to the blonde, "I'd like one too," he smiled as he quickly grabbed a chair from a nearby table to take a better seat.

Iggy then reached toward the stereo behind the bar, clearly not eanting to bother with the jukebox across the room and turned up some music. The two women both removed their coats to reveal pasties and g-strings beneath, earning them hoots, hollers and whistles from an excited, drunken little crowd of drooling men, then moved the their respective clients and began putting on a show. Each dancer straddled the men's laps, gyrating their hips and shoving their tits into their faces as both Kev and Lip slipped bills into their thongs. 

But Yevgeny wasn't paying them much attention at all, much more focused on drinking his beer, hoping to get drunk and cure the queasy, churning feeling he still had bubbling inside his guts. He saw his father roll his eyes and pay them no attention either, instead turning around and walking back toward Ian who was still just grinning and laughing, obviously already a little drunk himself. Yevgeny watched the redhead slip his arms around his father's waist and try to kiss him, though Mickey just laughed and pushed him away, much to his son's relief, not wanting to see them embrace anymore than he was already forced to on a daily basis. 

Then he continued to drink as the night went on, while the other men traded dances with the strippers and seemed rather oblivious to his disinterest in the performance. All except for Liam who seemed to be watching him quite a bit while all the others kept their eyes on the dancers instead. He stayed quiet as he watched Yevgeny down another beer, then reach over the bar to grab the nozzle of the keg and help himself to another, not seeming very interested in the dancers either. Yevgeny didn't notice his friend's gaze very much at first, then when he did, simply tried to save face, forcing himself to watch and stare at the women a little more, not wanting to give away his deep, dark secret or let on that he was anything but completely straight, like he always struggled to do. But then Liam leaned toward him with a concerned and curious gaze and spoke very quietly, not wanting anyone else to hear. 

"You okay, Yev?" Liam asked, to which his friend gave a wobbly, tipsy nod as he met his eyes.

"M'fine," Yevgeny replied, then felt a panicky prickle of nerves flush a long the back of his neck as he noticed one of the dancers finish her routine and set her eyes on him, "Just gotta take a piss," he added suddenly, then rose from his seat to rush off to the bathroom, averting his eyes as he passed Ian and his father drunkenly dancing much too close together and disappeared from the room as quickly as he could.

When Yevgeny entered the restroom and approached a urinal, he placed a single hand on the wall in front of him and hung his head with a pause, trying to get his mind into the right place to prepare himself for the inevitable discomfort that would soon be laid upon him when he walked back out. He didn't want to be anywhere near wither of those women, let alone allow one of them to dance on him and rub her body all over him. But he didn't think he was going to be able to avoid, or prevent it from happening either, much too afraid of what the other men may assume of him if he didn't go through with it. So just like before with Gemma, Yevgeny knew he would just have to fake it and let it happen, despite him really not wanting any of it. 

He took a breath and exhaled, then continued his motions in taking a piss and just tried to will himself to relax, not wanting to think on it too hard and psych himself out. He just wanted to get it all over with and fast, so the night would finally end and he would be free to go home to sleep off the booze he'd been sucking down much too quickly. Yevgeny knew by tomorrow he'd probably regret drinking so much, among so many other things, but it was the only way he going to be able to get through this and not expose anything about himself that he still wasn't ready to. He then tucked himself away and took another breath in preparation as he washed his hands, just before he turned around and finally moved to as it the restroom and rejoin the party inside the bar.

As Yevgeny stepped back out, he couldn't help but notice Ian and his father once again, still keeping their bodies close as they swayed to the music beside the pool table, then cringed with a frown as he saw Mickey whisper something into the redhead's ear that made him hood his eyes and bite his lip in a very lustful way. He looked away once more as he continued on his pace back toward the bar, seeing Liam peer over at him with the very same expression he had before, like he knew there was something off with him but couldn't figure out what it was. Yevgeny ignored it as he approached and grasped his beer glass once more, tipping his face back to empty it, then belched as he finally turned his attention back to the dancers who were both finishing up another lap dance. He then saw Iggy round the bar to grab a chair and scoot it over toward him, then clapped a single hand onto his shoulder and gestured toward the nearly naked woman beside them with a point and a grin. 

"Take your pick, Yev," directed Iggy, "Which one suits your taste?" he asked. Without thinking too much, Yevgeny let his consumption speak for him and let his eyes travel over to one of the women eyeing him. 

"Redhead," he mumbled, to which Iggy laughed at the irony.

"Like father, like son, eh?" Iggy grinned, which the young blonde man just tried to ignore, refusing too admit just how true the statement was, much more so than he would ever say aloud. 

Yevgeny also tried to ignore every eye he suddenly felt upon him and forced himself to gaze at the redheaded dancer now approaching him with a sweet, glossy smile spread across her face. Iggy grasped his other hand over Yevgeny's other shoulder and urged him to sit down in the chair he'd presented to him and widened his grin as he watched the woman as well, then leaned down toward the side of his head to speak. 

"Remember Yev, you can look but don't touch," he warned lightly, though Yevgeny still had no interest in doing anything of the sort anyway, simply nodding at his uncle's words, until the woman got even closer and slowly spread her legs to stand over his lap. 

"You can touch a little bit," the stripper informed, "Since it's a special occasion for you, birthday boy," she smiled with a wink. 

Her comment caused the young man to swallow rather nervously again and silently wished he'd been able to drink a little more before beginning. Then the nerves Yevgeny felt gathering in his chest suddenly began to overflow as the woman looked straight into his eyes and removed the pasties from her breasts to expose her nipples for him. The action earned her more whistles and hoots, along with heavier peers from staring eyes as she lowered her body a bit to straddle him, resting her forearms atop his shoulders and began slowly rolling her hips in his lap. 

Yevgeny forced himself to appear interested, keeping his eyes on her body as slid her hands down over his chest and rolled her hips a little faster against him. But he was still just nervous and so fucking uncomfortable, it was difficult to make it convincing, peering vaguely past her at one point back to Ian and his father, seeing them both glance toward him, but then turn their faces away to focus more on each other. Fuck, how he wished he had a distraction from this the way that both did in each other, but instead he was stuck, looking back at the redheaded woman in his lap and forced himself to keep watching her with his hands firmly down at his sides. 

But then the dancer reached for his hands and pulled, placing them on her tits and licked her lips when she met his eyes again. He bit down on his lip, but not from arousal, more from disturbed repulsion, refusing to grasp or squeeze, just letting his palms lay limply against her skin as she began to grind against the crotch of his pants, clearly trying to get a rise out of him that wasn't there. It was harder to pretend than he thought it would be. 

Still though, no one else seemed to notice, until he met Liam's eyes for just a second and saw that he clearly did, almost looking a little confused by the sight, but made to move to intrude either. Then the woman leaned toward him, pressing her breasts against his chest and whispered seductively in his ear. 

"Such a sexy boy," she moaned lustfully as Yevgeny just tried not to cringe again, the churn within his stomach quickly becoming more powerful than before, then clamped his eyes shut, just trying to remain strong in his charade, "Just say the word and there's so much more I can do for you," the woman offered, then moaned again as a hot, damp breath pushed through her lips against his ear, "We can go to the back and I'll let you fuck me for as long as you want," she said with a deep lace of seduction on her tone and reached a single hand down toward his cock with a grasp, "Bet you could turn my pussy into a fucking waterfall," the stripper whispered. 

The offer pushed a gag up Yevgeny's throat from the mental image her words had forced upon him and suddenly leaned away from the woman, unable to control his actions as he pushed her off his lap toward the floor in a quick, forceful shove. Kev caught the woman before she hit the floor, earning him an array of weird and confused gazes, but Yevgeny suddenly couldn't control the sickly churn that began rumbling through his guts and stood up from his seat to head for the door. 

"I'm gonna puke," Yevgeny managed as he stumbled toward the exit and ignored the comments of concern that were suddenly thrown at him as he rushed to get out of there. 

"Aye, Yev!" he heard his father call after him, "You alright?" Liam rose from his seat as well and began to follow him out the door. 

"Probably just drank too much too fast," Liam explained, "I'll make sure he gets home," he said, then quickly left the bar as well to follow Yevgeny outside onto the sidewalk.

As soon as Yevgeny got to his car, he threw up before he could even open the door, spilling all the booze he'd drank all over the street and silently cursing himself for not being able to control it. Liam approached him and placed a hand on his shoulder with a comforting rub as he continued to vomit down onto the pavement. 

"You're having a rough time, man," Liam said, "Don't think I've ever seen you blow chunks three times in one night," he noted. Yevgeny took a breath has his stomach emptied and slung an arm across his stomach as he spat down into the puddle. 

"Just take me home," he replied, not wanting to look his friend in the eye and face the shame that he felt. 

He then stood up straight as Liam opened his door for him and climbed inside to sit and let his head fall back against the seat. He avoided the other man's gaze as he got inside as well, then started the car and pulled off from the curb. 

Yevgeny closed his eyes as Liam drove, just waiting to get back to his apartment so he could sleep off his sickness, his disgust with himself for everything that'd happened tonight, still just wanting it all to be over and done with. But when he felt the car stop and park, he opened his eyes to see they were pulled over beside the baseball field down the block and not back at his home at all. He was confused as he looked around, then very nervously turned his face to see Liam looking at him, the expression on his face filling him with dread as they stared at each other through the quiet. Neither man spoke for a moment as they sat, until finally Liam raised his eyebrows and parted his lips to speak. 

"So, are you gonna tell me what the fuck's up with you tonight?" he asked quietly, but Yevgeny defensively shook his head with a shrug. 

"Just drank too much," Yevgeny said simply, but Liam didn't seem to buy that.

"Not from lack of trying," Liam replied with a blink. 

Yevgeny fell quiet at that, knowing he was in no position to deny that. Liam had been watching him drink all day long, even more so almost the moment they'd gotten to the bar and never had the slightest intention on slowing down, especially after the dancers had shown up. He didn't know how much he would be able to keep hidden from Liam anymore, no matter how much he'd kept concealed over all the years they'd known each other. Yevgeny looked away to stare down at his feet, unable to reply to his friend at all, but Liam tried again. 

"Come on, Yev," Liam said, "I can tell something's been bothering you lately and it's only getting worse," he mentioned, "Just tell me what's going on," he pressed lightly, "You know you can trust me, man," he said. 

Yevgeny turned his face back to look at him again, reading the expression on his face and the look in his eyes, the secret he kept locked away inside suddenly becoming overwhelming difficult not to let out. He could trust Liam with just about anything and he did know that, despite the fear of whatever he might say in return, of how he might treat him differently after finding out the truth. 

But Yevgeny almost felt like he was going to burst if he didn't let it out somewhere, to someone, and who better than his best friend to hear it first? He took a deep breath and tried not to let his hands shake as he nervously laced them together in his lap and blinked with a heavy exhale. It was now or never. 

"Okay, well," Yevgeny finally breathed through a whisper, "I'm pretty sure I'm gay," he said.


	5. Chapter 5

Yevgeny sat frozen in his seat staring down at the floor, utterly terrified of whatever Liam was going to say to him after revealing what he had. They were words he'd never said aloud before, and never thought he would, almost ashamed to have said them at all. He felt vulnerable and exposed, like his skin was suddenly bare and naked for all the world to see. But he couldn't take it back now, simply stuck waiting within the silence for however his friend was going to react, almost hoping he could just disappear instead. 

The quiet was unbearable and smothering and Yevgeny almost felt he might break down and cry if it stretched out for much longer. As his freshly spoken secret hung heavy in the air, he tried to distract himself from it, reaching down into the pocket of his jeans to fish out his cigarette pack, pulling one out and lighting it to pull a drag. He held the cloud of smoke deep in his lungs, then exhaled slowly, just before he gathered his courage to finally look back over, daring to meet Liam's eyes again, though he'd still yet to reply. His friend looked it at him for a long, quiet moment, his eyes peering over him in careful study as he soaked in Yevgeny's words, then finally parted his lips with a blink. 

"That's it?" Liam asked, earning him a sudden perplexed crinkle within the other man's brow. Yevgeny slowly nodded. 

"Well, yeah," Yevgeny replied quietly, "What were you expecting me to say?" he queried, to which Liam shrugged a bit. 

"I didn't really know what to expect," Liam admitted, "But it definitely wasn't that," he added honestly. Yevgeny wasn't really sure what else to say, but figured now that it was out, he might as well talk about it, even if just a little bit. 

"Are you surprised?" he queried. Liam seemed to think another moment, then slightly shook his head. 

"No, not really," Liam replied, which surprised the other man himself, since no one else had ever had any suspicions that he knew of, then shrugged a bit again, "Well, maybe just a little bit," he said, "I guess I should have figured since I've never really seen you with a girl," he continued, then tipped his brow, "Well except Gemma tonight," he added, then flashed him a questioning glance. 

"Nothing really happened with her anyway," Yevgeny informed him, "I mean, a little bit happened, but I couldn't get through it," he confessed, really not wanting to talk too much about it, even with Liam, "Just made me too uncomfortable," he explained lowly. 

His friend offered a slow, understanding nod, not at all attempting to prod him into revealing more as the blonde boy smoked his cigarette, then passed it over to share. Liam took it and sucked in a drag, then exhaled with a smirk as he let his eyes fall back over to Yevgeny and nudged him rather playfully with his elbow. 

"Hey, maybe this shit just runs in the family?" Liam cracked lightly, earning him a scoff and a frown from the young man beside him. 

"The fuck is that supposed to mean?" Yevgeny asked, "Because my dad's a faggot and my mom's a fucking rug muncher, I was just destined to be the same?" he queried. The other young man laughed, then shook his head again. 

"Well, no. Not necessarily," replied Liam with a grin, "Just kind of a weird fucking coincidence," he noted, "It's kinda the same with my family too though," he said, which confused Yevgeny quite a bit, causing him to crinkle his forehead again and arch a single eyebrow. 

"I don't understand," Yevgeny responded, "You talking about your brother?" he asked, watching as his friend sucked in another drag of smoke, then passed it back over to him with an exhale.

"Yeah, there's Ian," Liam confirmed in an obvious tone, then upturned a palm, "But my mom always preferred women, especially after Frank, which I don't blame her for," he chuckled a bit, "My sister Debbie does too," Liam added, then paused with a bit of hesitation before he continued, "And I mean, I've always been pretty open minded," he revealed a little lower, to which Yevgeny widened his eyes with a lace of confusion. 

"What?" he blurted, then screwed up his face, "You're not gay," Yevgeny denied with certainty, "I've seen you date girls before," he reminded firmly. The other man just tilted his head with a slow agreeing nod. 

"Yeah, I have," said Liam, "Doesn't mean that's all I'm into though," he explained simply.

Yevgeny was quiet again at that, and to say he was surprised would be quite the understatement. But he was also still confused, having never had even the slightest inkling that Liam had any other sexual interest beside women and he was sort of put at another loss for words. Why hadn't Liam ever told him of this before? Perhaps it was the same reasons that Yevgeny had never told Liam of his own preferences either and that he understood a little better. Maybe Liam had been just as nervous to reveal such personal information as Yevgeny was himself, and only now felt comfortable enough to share after Yevgeny had confided in him as well. 

He was grateful for that, and though he was still a bit shocked, he already felt quite a bit better, almost relieved that his friend not only wasn't judging him, but that at least on some level, Liam felt the same. There was comfort in that discovery for Yevgeny, suddenly feeling as though an incredible weight had been lifted off of his chest and he exhaled with relief. But he also still had questions, now feeling comfortable and confident enough to ask them, knowing that he wasn't entirely alone in this anymore. The blonde man sucked in a drag, then blew it out in front of him just before he passed the cigarette back again and arched another eyebrow. 

"How long has it been like that?" Yevgeny queried, to which the dark skinned young man crinkled his brow, not quite understanding the question, so the blonde boy rephrased it, "Like, when did you know?" he asked. Liam shrugged again.

"I dunno," Liam said, "Always, I guess," he replied, "It was never really something I paid much attention to," he admitted, "It's just the way I am," he shrugged once more. Yevgeny flicked the ash off the end of his cigarette, watching it fall down through the crack of the window beside him, then spoke again very quietly. 

"Aren't you ever afraid of being different though?" he asked, "Wondering what people think of you?" yevgeny queried further, suddenly feeling extremely vulnerable all over again, but then Liam spoke again, catching him off guard. 

"Man, fuck what people think," Liam replied firmly, "It's none of their fucking business anyway," he said. 

The statement surprised Yevgeny even more, not expecting a response quite like that at all and simply blinked as he let his friend's words settle on his ears. He then raised the cigarette back up to his lips to pull another drag and passed it once more, the pair now sitting together in silence once again. A few minutes passed as they shared their cigarette, just before Liam flicked the butt through the window and turned back to Yev. 

"So I take it your dad doesn't know?" Liam queried, causing the other man to shake his head. 

"No," Yevgeny replied, "And I'm not gonna tell him any time soon either," he said. Liam creased his brow. 

"Why not?" Liam asked back, but the other young man only shrugged. 

"I'm just not ready," breathed Yevgeny, then turned his face back to look at him, "I wasn't even planning on telling _you_ ," he informed, "Wasn't gonna tell anybody," he said, earning him a smirk. 

"Well, I'm glad you did," Liam smiled, "At least now I know what's been on your mind," he said, sounding quite grateful that Yevgeny had trusted him enough to let him in a little, that he'd told him the truth, then kept his eyes on him as he leaned a little closer, "And if you're not ready for anybody else to know, I won't tell anyone," he assured quietly, "Do it on your own time," Liam advised, "I'm still always here if you need me though," he said.

Yevgeny was touched that Liam had reacted the way he had, clearly having over thought the situation entirely and was still happy and grateful that the other man was offering him as much support as he was. He appreciated it sincerely, he really did, but Yevgeny was nothing if not his father's son and screwed up his face a bit with a scoff on his lips. 

"Whatever, man," he smirked, "Now quit talking like a bitch before I start treating you like one," Yevgeny chuckled in a smug tone, earning him a rough, yet playful shove from Liam in return. The blonde boy shoved him back and together they laughed as they feignly fought against each other for a moment, before settling back down with friendly, contented smiles on both of their faces. 

Then Yevgeny assumed that Liam was going to start the car to continue on their way, but hadn't yet made any move to do so, causing him to turn his face back him and noticed his expression again. The dark skinned man suddenly held a rather serious face, like he was thinking, contemplating, with something else on his mind but didn't yet speak again either, just peering quietly over at him through the dark space between them. Yevgeny's smile slowly faded as he looked. Then Liam blinked and slowly titled his head. 

"Eventually you should tell Mickey though," Liam insisted quietly, carefully, as if he knew he were treading on touchy territory, and looked straight into his eyes, "If anyone would understand what you're going through by keeping this shit inside, you know it's him," he said. 

Yevgeny swallowed and tried not to visibly stiffen at his words, knowing deep down that there was still so much more he still kept hidden inside besides his sexuality. His unnatural infatuation for Ian was still something he had no intent on ever letting come to light, especially in front of his father. It was something dark and disturbing that he never wanted to voice to anyone ever if he could help it. No one could ever understand that part of him, especially when he still didn't fully understand it himself. He just wasn't ready for that. It was simply unspeakable.

Instead of replying, Yevgeny simply faced back forward, then out the window beside him to share blankly across the baseball field, not having much to say about it at all. He could feel Liam's eyes still on him, but he ignored his gaze, still just wanted to get back home and go to sleep. He wanted today to be over and was no longer in any mood to talk. Yevgeny blinked as he stared, then let his head tip back against the seat as he kept his eyes elsewhere and exhaled. 

"Can you please just take me home now?" he asked quietly. 

Liam stayed silent, hesitating on if he should say anymore, but relented and turned the key in the ignition to start the car back up. He then put it into gear and slowly pulled out from it's spot along the curb to drive back down the street, just like Yevgeny asked him to.

When Liam parked the car, he and Yevgeny breifly shook up to say goodbye and part ways, with Liam handing the other man the car keys, then starting down the block to walk back to his own home. Yevgeny slowly made his way up the stairs to his apartment and turned his key inside the lock of the door to let himself in, then closed it quietly behind him within the dark. But then as he began walking toward his own bedroom, his feet slowed and paused when he suddenly heard the faintest noises coming from the hallway, quietly seeping out from his father's bedroom instead. 

He hadn't expected Ian and his father to be back home so soon, but with a glance at the clock realized that he'd been sitting and talking with Liam quite a bit longer than he realized, then squinted his eyes to peer back down the hallway. As he crept closer, he began to realize almost instantly what the noises were, almost disturbed by the pants and moans he began to hear and knew he should probably just sneak past quietly to continue on to his bedroom. But then his curiosity began to nag at him, pull at him, even more so when he noticed the door to Ian and Mickey's bedroom was cracked open just the slightest bit. 

Yevgeny knew it would be wrong to peek, to spy and invade the couple's privacy, but he couldn't seem to help himself as he very slowly walked even closer and the noises from within struck his ears more directly. Even though he knew he shouldn't, he still just wanted to see. Then when Yevgeny approached the door, he was careful not to touch it, not wanting it to creak or squeak atop it's hinges and draw the attention of the two men inside, silently leaning toward the crack to peer sneakily through the opening at the activity within. 

What he saw was a bit different than what he'd predicted, but no less private than the intimacy of any other couple as peculiar as the arrangement was before him. Yevgeny saw Ian on his back, with his hands fastened to the top of the bedpost above his head, his wrists clasped tightly together with the very same pair of handcuffs he'd found in their secret adult stash of toys inside the black box beneath their bed. His father was astride him, with a deep, maroon sheet wrapped around his hips, concealing their connection beneath it and was moving atop the redhead at a steady, vigorous pace. 

The dark haired man had both his hands grasped firmly over Ian's chest and together their brows creased thickly with lust as Mickey rode him, with a deep, breathy melody of moans and groans spilling from both their mouths. The two men kept their eyes on each other, with Mickey's hungry and dominating, while Ian's were hooded and somewhat achy, like the man atop him was overwhelming his body with his movements. The redhead bit his lower lip and tugged at his wrists within their metallic shackles, seeming to crave being able to release them and smooth his palms along his lover's body, but Mickey refused to offer him any such relief.

Yevgeny knew that he should perhaps be disgusted and repulsed by what he saw, but he wasn't. He was more intrigued than anything else, having always thought before that being the bottom of such an arrangement would be more submissive than what he was seeing, though that clearly wasn't always the case. And watching just how much Ian seemed to enjoy what the other man was doing to him, was just as captivating to see, like he was slowly being wrecked and ruined by every drop of Mickey's hips. 

How he wished that he had the chance to put the redheaded man into such a state, the way his gaze craved and yearned for the other man with a thick lacing of lust and need flooding heavily through his pupils. Yevgeny would give almost anything to be looked at that way, by Ian, or by any other really, something he'd never experienced before. He watched as his father's hands tenderly caressed the muscles of Ian's chest and fought back a frowning cringe that Mickey was so lucky to be the one to do that to him. Then Ian pushed out a harsh, straining groan as he attempted to move his body beneath him, tugging at his fastened wrists once more, but the other man just held him down. 

"Fuck, Mickey," he heard Ian moan, "I wanna touch you," he breathed, "Please let me touch you," the redhead pleaded roughly. The other man split a sinister smirk, making no move to comply. 

"Fuckin' love it when you beg," Mickey whispered back, then moaned out deeply as he slammed his hips down a little harder, "Tell me how bad you want it," he said.

"So fucking bad," Ian groaned as his brow creased more deeply, "Wanna feel you while you move," he whispered breathily, then narrowed his eyes in a deep, dark way, "Then I wanna flip you over, spread you open and fuck you harder than I ever fucking have before," he said with another bite of his lip. 

"Fuck Ian," Mickey moaned as his fingertips dug deeper into the bulky muscles of his chest, just before he leaned forward a bit toward their bed side table, slowing his movements some as he grabbed a little silver key and unlocked the other man's wrists from the cuffs atop the bedpost. 

As soon as the redhead's hands were released, Ian sat up better to kiss him, roughly and deeply, then wrapped his arms around his body, sliding his palms down his back to dip beneath the sheets toward his ass. The kiss was harsh and wet, gradually slowing down just enough for Mickey to speak against his lips. 

"You wanna fuck me?" Mickey asked him quietly, "Then fuck me," he invited, earning him an eager lusty groan just before Ian grasped his hands around him more tightly to turn them both over and position himself on top.

Their embrace immediately turned harder, rougher, with the redhead quickly speeding up his motions to drill his body down into the man beneath him with every harsh, intentful thrust. Yevgeny heard his father's moans suddenly become much louder and unabashed, unrestrained, clearly still believing that he and Ian were completely alone and no one else could hear him. He saw the dark haired man's hands grasp their way up the redhead's back, pulling him closer as their lips clashed together, then threaded a single hand up through his hair. 

"I love you," Mickey pushed out through a pant, "Fuck, I love you," he moaned. 

"I love you too, Mick," Ian replied, "I love you so much," he breathed quietly, and Yevgeny had to look away, unable to watch any more. 

The blonde boy felt a sharp twinge of pain and jealousy stab him in the chest, causing him to turn his face and back away from the door, finishing his stride toward his bedroom to shut himself away inside. He couldn't explain the pain that he suddenly felt after what he'd witnessed, how angry he'd almost instantly become from seeing Ian engaged with his father in such a personal, intimate way. 

He knew that he should be happy for the both of them, that they had each other, thst they loved and cared for each other so much, so very deeply, much more deeply than he'd ever seen almost anyone love another person. But he wasn't. Yevgeny almost hated them for their love, their happiness, but he didn't know why, beginning to wish that he had just ignored their sounds of indulgence and gone straight to his room without even a glance toward their doorway at all. Maybe this was some subconscious way of punishing himself, torturing himself, taunting his mind with the things he could never have, the man he could never have. It was his own fault though for spying and Yevgeny knew that, even if he hadn't been able to help himself. But that didn't make it hurt any less. 

Tonight had been one gigantic shitshow, from Gemma, to the strippers, to puking his guts up and confessing such a deeply guarded secret to Liam, then topping it off by creepily invading the privacy of the two men he lived with. Yevgeny was now more frustrated with himself than ever before, just wanting it all to be over, to forget, and never think about any of it ever again. He just wanted this day to finally end and disappear completely.

Then as he shed his clothes and climbed into bed to hide beneath the covers, he curled his body up tight within itself, squeezing his arms around his knees and folded them up to his chest. Finally Yevgeny closed his eyes, feeling the burning threat of tears searing behind his eyelids and turned his face down, refusing to let them fall and just hoped that tomorrow might be a little better than today. It just had to be.


	6. Chapter 6

It had been almost a week since Yevgeny's birthday blunder and ever since, he'd barely been able to look neither Ian nor his father in the eyes following what he'd witnessed after coming home that night. In fact, he'd mostly just been trying to avoid being home completely, not wanting either man to question his unusual change in mood and spend most of his time driving around in his new set of wheels with no particular destination in mind. But sometimes there were other days when Yevgeny didn't have to do that, with Mickey going to work at the bar and Ian would spend most of the day out running errands for the household. On these days he was a little more free to relax and get some time to himself. The only person he wanted to bother with was Liam, who would come over to smoke weed and play video games with him, generally just keeping him company. 

Yevgeny was especially grateful that Liam not only wasn't treating him any differently after his confession last week, but he also avoided bringing it up at all like it never even happened in the first place. He appreciated that a lot, having been rather worried that perhaps there would be an awkwardness between them now, but thankfully there wasn't. Things were just as easy now as they'd always been, which put Yevgeny at quite a bit of ease, not feeling quite so embarrassed for having exposed himself to another person. Liam didn't seem to care a single bit and he was happy about that. 

Something that Yevgeny wasn't very happy about however, was the fact that ever since that night, Gemma suddenly wouldn't stop her attempts in trying to get a hold of him. She'd become almost relentless, constantly calling and texting his cellphone, even though he never answered a single time she tried to get him to. He was sure that she'd probably gotten the wrong idea in her head about what they were, despite Yevgeny thinking he'd made it clear to her that he wasn't interested in them being anything at all. He almost felt bad about not responding to her, but he was much more annoyed at her persistence than anything else. He knew that he never should have led her on, even if at the time, he only did it because he'd felt backed into a corner. Yevgeny just wished he could take most of that entire night back and do it differently, but it was already far too late. 

Today was no different, as he sat beside Liam sharing a few beers and passing a joint back and forth between them, both engaged in a game of Mortal Combat, each trying their hardest to defeat the other's avatar on the screen. Together they drank and smoked, laughed and slung trash talk between them, having a great time just the two of them. But then during a pause between their rounds, Yevgeny's attention was caught by his cellphone suddenly buzzing atop the coffee table and he set his controller down to check it, causing another irritated frown to begin pulling at his face. He set it back down in it's place with a heavy sigh and gave his forehead a rub.

"Jesus fucking Christ," Yevgeny mumbled, then pinched the bridge of his nose as the man beside him turned his face. 

"That Gemma again?" Liam asked, to which the blonde man sighed again and gave a single nod.

"Yeah," Yevgeny confirmed, "For like the tenth fucking time today," he breathed as he dropped his hand, then pinched the end of the joint as his friend passed it over to him, "She just won't fucking stop," he added with annoyance. Liam chuckled a bit. 

"That's because she thinks she's your girlfriend," Liam replied smugly, causing the other man to screw up his face. 

"Why the fuck would she think that?" Yevgeny frowned, causing Liam to flash him a flat, yet knowing expression. 

"You know why," said Liam. Yevgeny sucked a long, deep puff of smoke into his lungs and held it for a moment, then exhaled a thick cloud out in front of him. 

"But I told her I wasn't looking for anything like that," Yevgeny informed as he passed the joint back, "And she said that she wasn't either," he insisted, to which his friend beside him shrugged as he pulled a drag off the joint as well. 

"You know how girls are, man," replied Liam, causing Yevgeny to press him lips together. 

"Not really," Yevgeny confessed, to which the other man chuckled again. 

"They like to say one thing, but mean another," Liam explained with an exhale, "If you want her to leave you alone, eventually you're gonna have to answer and set her straight," he advised as he reached to tap the joint over an ashtray atop the table in front of them, "Otherwise, she's just gonna keep trying," he said. The blonde young man gestured for the joint, to which Liam easily passed, then gave him head a shake.

"I don't wanna hurt her though, man," Yevgeny said, "I mean, I like Gemma. Just not like that," he shrugged lightly as he brought the joint to his lips and Liam tilted his head. 

"Well, do you want her to keep bugging you?" Liam queried, causing Yevgeny to shake his head and Liam sat back a little further into the couch, "Then you might have to," he said. 

Yevgeny frowned as they sat together in silence for a moment, thinking over his options and perhaps find a way to get Gemma off his back without hurting her feelings, but his mind simply came up blank. Then Liam smirked and parted his lips to speak again, offering up a solution that made Yevgeny stiffen with discomfort. 

"Or you could just tell her that you're gay?" suggested Liam, causing the other man to snap his face around to glare at him like he was insane. 

"Fuck you," Yevgeny spat, "That's definitely not gonna fucking happen," he stated firmly, refusing to do any such thing as that. But Liam just held his smirk as he upturned a palm. 

"If you did though, she'd probably leave you alone," he said, but Yevgeny just held his frown Nd shook his head again. 

"No," he replied with more insistence, then sucked in a drag and blew it out, "I'll figure something out," said Yev.

Liam leaned forward to grasp his beer bottle, then lifted to his lips to take a sip, just before the man beside him passed the joint back. As Liam took it, Yevgeny reached for his own beer to drink as well, then set it back down and gave his brow another frustrated rub. The dark skinned man watched him for a moment as he did, crushed the roach of their joint into the ashtray and gestured toward Yevgeny's controller on the table. 

"Well, until you do, you up for another round?" Liam queried, "Or are you gonna forfeit like a pussy?" he grinned. 

Yevgeny arched an eyebrow at him and couldn't help but smirk back at Liam's boldness and almost immediately scooped his controller back up into his palm and flashed his eyes toward the tv screen in front of them. 

"Forfeit these nuts, bitch," Yevgeny spat playfully with a grasp to his crotch, earning him a loud, humorous laugh, "We'll see who the fucking pussy is," he challenged.

With that, the pair returned to their video game, playing through more rounds of combat as the afternoon turned into evening, then settled on a wrestling match as they cracked open a few more beers and shared another joint while they still had the apartment to themselves. Then as Yevgeny sparked a cigarette and began sharing that with Liam as well, the front door suddenly opened and he tried not to cough on a drag of smoke that got stuck inside his throat when he flashed his eyes up to see the body passing through it. 

Ian stepped inside the apartment with a few plastic bags in his arms, along with a brown paper sack clutched inside a single palm, then awkwardly twisted to shut the door behind him. Yevgeny immediately averted his eyes, images of the man with his father from just a few night before suddenly flooding through his mind and he instantly became extremely nervous about looking him in the face again. But the redhead didn't seem to take any notice, simply smiling at the pair of younger men seated on the couch, while the sounds of a cheering crowd and a wrestling ring bell continued blaring out through the speakers of the television. Ian tipped his chin and tried as best he could to offer a greeting wave of his hand without dropping any of his bags. 

"Oh, hi Liam," Ian smiled, to which his brother returned his chin tip as he took a sip of a freshly opened beer, "Hey Yev," he added. Yevgeny kept his eyes on the television across the room and tipped his chin as well. 

The redhead took a few more steps further inside to set his bags down atop the cramped little coffee table, which Yevgeny simply arched his neck around to continue watching the wrestling show as he kept his expression neutral and uninterested. Then Ian began glancing through his recent purchases, peeking inside bags and took a glance up at the boys in front of him. 

"Finally got this shit done," Ian exhaled, "Ran a bunch of errands, restocked on essentials and went grocery shopping," he explained, "The bus was fucking packed though," he added, then shot a small smile toward Yevgeny, "Suppose I coulda just asked to borrow the car," he grinned lightly. The blonde man merely hummed with acknowledgement, keeping his eyes straight ahead of him as Ian turned his face back down, "Next time I will," he said. 

"Didn't fucking feel like cooking tonight though, so I just grabbed some burgers," Ian informed, grasping the brown paper bag and tugging it open with his fingers as he looked up at his younger brother, "Wasn't expecting _you_ to be here though, Liam," he said, "Good thing, I got extras," he smiled and began pulling food out from the bag. Liam took one of the burgers offered to him and smiled right back. 

"Thanks, man," he said, earning him a simple nod. 

"No problem," Ian replied, then placed a burger in front of Yevgeny as well, and began extracting small cups of french fries, "How long have you been here for anyway?" he asked his brother. Liam shrugged. 

"Pretty much all day," said Liam, just before he reached toward Yevgeny to snatch the burning cigarette out from between his lips causing the blonde man to glare at him, but still remained silent, "Why, you miss me already?" he grinned smugly, to which Ian simply scoffed with a chuckle. 

"Just saying, if I had known you were coming by, I would have put this shit off until tomorrow," Ian said, then glanced toward the television as the bell rung again, ending another wrestling match, "Shit, King of the Ring was tonight?" he asked with a disappointed expression, then turned back around, "I guess Mickey and I'll just have to YouTube it later or something," he said. 

Yevgeny turned his eyes down as Liam snuffed his cigarette out into an ashtray and began to unwrap his burger, silently hoping that Ian would just hurry up and go about his business, still feeling extremely awkward and uneasy being around him again. It made it even worse now that Liam knew about his secret preferences and he tried so very hard not to look at the redhead too much at all, not wanting his friend to notice him gazing in any unnatural way. So instead, he just tried to keep his eyes down as he picked his burger up with both hands and took a large bite. 

"Speaking of which, I'm about to head down to the bar to bring Mick some dinner too," Ian added, much to Yevgeny's relief, then glanced back down inside the fast food bag, "Got a barbeque bacon cheeseburger in here for him," he said, "It's his favorite and I kinda wanted to surprise him with it," Ian smiled sweetly, thoughtfully, like he was extremely excited to go back out to give it to him and Yevgeny just tried not to cringe. He then straightened up and gave a point toward the hallway, "I'm just gonna hop in the shower first," said Ian, then gave a point between them, "When you guys are done eating, can you do me a favor and put this shit away for me?" he queried with a gesture toward his shopping bags. Yevgeny offered yet Nother tip of his chin, just wanting Ian to leave again, but Liam arched an eyebrow. 

"What the fuck do I get for it?" Liam asked, but Ian just scoffed and pushed out his chin with another point. 

"You're eating a free fucking burger," Ian replied, "If you wanna be an asshole, I'll just take the shit right back," he informed as he reached for the food, but his brother just laughed and clutched the meat patty a little tighter as he moved it out of his reach. 

"Alright, alright," Liam relented, "Keep your fucking hands to yourself," he chuckled. The redhead dropped his hands and made a small glance at Yevgeny. 

"Besides, I'm sure Yev would appreciate a hand, since he doesn't have a choice, right?" Ian asked with a raise of his brow. Yevgeny still kept his eyes on the tv, refusing to peel them away as he took another bite of his burger. 

"Uh, yeah," Yevgeny mumbled through his mouthful, "For sure," he said. 

The brothers beside him looked at him a bit peculiarly, watching him as he remained intent on avoiding both of their gazes and continued to chew his food in silence. The redhead creased his brow a little and slowly tilted his head. 

"You okay, Yev?" Ian asked carefully, "You seem a little off lately," he observed. Yevgeny chewed his mouthful a bit more, then swallowed. 

"Just trying to fucking watch this," he explained with a point, trying not to sound as bothered as he felt. The two men just held their expressions on him for another moment, just before Ian relented and opted not to prod. 

"Okay, well, I'm gonna go shower then," said Ian. 

He shot Liam a small, questioning glance, to which his brother shrugged, then moved to step around the table and walk down the hall toward the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. Liam then turned his face back to Yevgeny with a confused arch of his brow.

"What the fuck was that about?" Liam asked, causing the man beside him to finally tear his eyes away from the television, but only for a second. 

"What?" Yevgeny asked back, trying to appear like he had absolutely no idea what his friend was talking about, but Liam wasn't buying it. 

" _That,_ " Liam said with a tip of his brow toward the closed bathroom door, "Why the fuck are you acting like an asshole to Ian?" he queried with a frown. 

"I'm not," replied Yevgeny. 

"Yes you are," Liam insisted, "So what the fuck?" he asked again, "He do something that you're not telling me about?" pressed Liam. The blonde man stiffened again and looked back ahead at the television as he took another bite from his burger. 

"No," Yevgeny said, "It's nothing you don't already know about," he added, trying to get him off of his back. But the other man just creased his brow a little further. 

"What the fuck does that mean?" Liam wondered with confusion, setting his burger down and holding his frown on him.

Yevgeny moved his eyes back over to him and hesitated, unsure if he really wanted to tell Liam what he meant, what he was referring to, as images of the man's brother groaning beneath his father started seeping back into his brain all over again. He still knew he could trust Liam with just about anything, even if it was something he'd rather not talk about. Yevgeny also figured that if he didn't offer him something, that he would just keep nagging at him to spill it, or perhaps get angry at him for refusing and get right up to leave. He didn't want that to happen, no matter how uncomfortable such a thing may make him feel to say, and as long as he didn't have to let the much bigger, darker secret out, Yevgeny thought he might be able to manage it. 

He waited another moment as Liam continued to frown at him, the expression onnhis face, slowly turning into a glare. Then once he heard the shower turn on in the other room and knew Ian wouldn't be able to overhear him, he felt a little more confident that the man wouldn't find out what he was about to share. Yevgeny set down his burger and swallowed his mouthful, then took a small sip of beer with a smack of his lips.

"Alright," Yevgeny conceded as he sat further back onto the couch, "But if I tell you, you can't fucking say anything about it," he directed with a stern point of his finger. Liam looked intrigued at that, his face smoothing back out some and split a small smirk. 

"Haven't you fucking figured out by now that you can trust me?" Liam asked, knowing the question was rhetorical, especially after last week. Yevgeny licked his lips, willing to finally tell him, but also figured it best to bend the truth just a little bit as he did. 

"Okay, well, I uh," Yevgeny began awkwardly, "Sorta walked in on him and my dad fucking last week," he pushed out quickly with a cringe. 

Liam blinked in silence for a second, just before he threw his head back against the couch with a loud, bellowing laugh, clutching a palm to his chest as he practically exploded with amusement. Yevgeny went wide eyed as he watched him, then almost instantly pulled a frown. Not wanting the redhead to maybe hear him over the watery spray of the showerhead behind the bathroom door, and as well as feeling like Liam took his uneasiness about the situation as a joke, Yevgeny instantly swung a tight hard fist toward the other man and punched him right in the arm. 

"Aye, shut the fuck up!" Yevgeny spat, but the other man just continued to laugh, "I dunno why the fuck you think that shit is so fucking funny," he growled out angrily, "Because it's not," Yevgeny informed him firmly. Liam exhaled with a humorous expression still pressed into his face, then turned it back toward his friend with a smile. 

"It kinda is though," Liam chuckled, "You really think seeing my brother with his cock up your dad's ass was traumatizing enough to practically give Ian the silent treatment?" he asked with another laugh, "I'm sure they're both way more embarrassed about that than you are," assured Liam. Yevgeny exhaled through his nose and looked toward the floor. 

"They didn't see me," he revealed, "And I'd rather neither of them know what I saw," Yevgeny added. 

"Well, with the way you're acting, they're gonna figure it out," Liam informed with a raise of his brow, "So if you don't want them to know, stop being an asshole," he advised. 

Yevgeny knew Liam was right, but it was much easier said than done. He couldn't really help how he was acting, even if it wasn't completely a result of what he'd witnessed. Deep down Yevgeny was still hurt about what he saw, even though he'd known for years that Ian and Mickey were physically intimate and had been for even longer than he'd been alive. But to actually see it with his own two eyes was a much different thing entirely. It was an image that was hard for him to forget now that he'd observed them in such a position and it made Yevgeny look at both men much differently than before. He looked away and scrunched his face a bit.

"I just can't get the shit outta my head though," Yevgeny told him quietly, "I can barely fucking look at them," he said, but his friend just chuckled again.

"That's not that fucking bad, man," Liam assured, "You'll get over it," he said, causing Yevgeny to turn his face back toward him with another frown. 

"How the fuck can you be so sure?" he asked, "Shit's burned into my fucking eyelids," Yevgeny cringed, to which Liam chuckled again as he titled his head with a raise of his brow and another smug smirk began pulling at his lips. 

"You think you're the only fucking person that's happened to?" queried Liam. 

His comment made Yevgeny feel pathetic all over again, but still refused to tell him the whole truth of the matter either. He was just too ashamed. Yevgeny still didn't plan on ever speaking to anyone about his infatuation with the redheaded man that made him so very jealous of his father's relationship with him, especially to Ian's brother. It didn't matter how good of friends he was with Liam, how close they were or how much he trusted him. He was never going to let it out to anyone ever, not if he could help it. But then the dark skinned man surprised him when he opened his mouth to speak again. 

"I've seen my brother and your dad fucking around before," Liam revealed, "Not to mention all the times I've walked in on Frank fucking some nasty meth head bitch growing up," he added. Yevgeny turned his face back once more with a shocked and curious expression. 

"When did that happen?" Yevgeny queried, and Liam pulled a distasteful expression.

"I caught Frank out back behind the Alibi with some fat, ugly chick bent over the dumpster about a month ago," Liam replied, to which Yevgeny twisted his face into a similar expression. 

"What? No-fuck, no," Yevgeny cringed with a head shake, "I meant Ian and Mickey," he specified. 

"Oh," said Liam, "Well, a couple times when I was a kid since we shared a bedroom," he replied, "But I didn't know what they were doing at the time," admitted Liam, "Once, all I could see was your dad's head bobbing up and down under a blanket when he was in bed with my brother," he said with a chuckle, to which his friend simply held his cringe again. 

"So, you didn't actually see anything at all," Yevgeny responded flatly, then grabbed his burger again to pick it back up, "Lucky you," he said, then took a large bite. 

"There were other times," Liam said with a contrary tilt of his head, "But I doubt you wanna hear all the graphic details," he chuckled again, "It's really not a big deal though, man," Liam insisted, "Everybody fucks," he shrugged.

Yevgeny didn't say anything back, not really being able to argue much with that, even if he wasn't exactly included in 'everybody,' at least not in that sense. He was still a virgin, another fact that he was sure he had never shared with anyone, even Liam. But he definitely wasn't going to bring it up now either, choosing to simply drop the subject instead as he returned his eyes to the wrestling match in front of him and took another bite of his burger. And thankfully Liam seemed content in dropping it too, picking up his own burger once more to take a bite and watch the match again as well. Yevgeny tried not to visibly sigh with relief at that and just tried to be patient of Ian finishing up his shower so he could leave again. 

Then when he heard the running water in the other room shut off and the bathroom door opened, Yevgeny kept his eyes in front of him and refused to make a single glance toward the hallway, unable to bear the luring aight of the redhead wet, dripping and wrapped in nothing but a towel. But then his restraint was tested, when a few more minutes passed and Ian suddenly walked out from his bedroom half dressed with wet hair and no shirt, wearing a fresh pair of jeans and held a dampened towel to his head, hurriedly drying the slick, red strands along his scalp. Yevgeny glanced up toward him, then immediately averted his eyes, nervously swallowing a mouthful of food and tried to distract himself with another sip of his beer. 

"Hey, Yev," Ian said, "Have you seen that green t-shirt of mine?" he asked, "I keep looking for it, but can't seem to find it anywhere," he said. Yevgeny's eyes flickered toward him once more, then almost instantly moved away again. 

"Uh, no," he replied a bit too quickly, to which the other man dropped his towel wrapped arm and raised a single eyebrow. 

"You sure?" Ian pressed lightly, "You haven't maybe done any more laundry since last week?" he queried, but the young blonde man just shook his head. 

"No," Yevgeny repeated, fighting the urge to chew his lip and gaze back up at the redhead's freshly washed chest muscles.

He blinked a few times, then awkwardly looked down toward the floor, unable to even focus on the television much at the moment, not with a half naked Ian still standing in his periferal vision. But like always, the redhead remained oblivious to his struggle and simply frowned a bit as he turned his body back toward the hallway. 

"Hmm, okay," replied Ian, "I'll just wear a different one, I guess. Thanks anyway," he said, then walked back to his bedroom to do just that.

Yevgeny exhaled and gave his brow a frustrated rub, then suddenly noticed the dark skinned man seated beside him was staring at him again in a much more peculiar way than before. He met his eyes, but didn't speak, trying to decipher Liam's expression and understand why exactly he was peering over at him the way he was, like he was trying much too hard to read his mind. It made him nervous and uncomfortable all over again, afraid that the other man may have noticed how much of a distraction the redhead was to him, that his body language around him was more than just an awkward discomfort that would result from 'accidentally' walking in on the man being physically engaged with his father. But Yevgeny still said nothing, refusing to confirm whatever Liam might be thinking. Then he saw Liam open his mouth, preparing to speak, but then almost instantly closed it when Ian entered the room again.

"Alright, I'm headed down to the bar," Ian announced as he grasped the paper burger bag from off the table and began back toward the front door, "If you guys need anything, gimme a call," he directed, "Otherwise I probably won't be back until Mick closes up. So don't wait up," he said with a smile, then gave a brief wave and walked through the door, closing it behind him.

Both young men watched him go, then as Yevgeny turned his face back down to his food once again, Liam turned his own toward him with knowing, studying expression. Yevgeny could feel his eyes on him, unable to ignore it and paused once more, not yet taking a bite as he flashed him a small questioning glance. Liam's eyes moved between his own as he slowly arched an eyebrow. 

"You know, you're not hiding it as well as you think are," Liam said quietly, then chuckled a bit, "I'm kinda surprised that I never noticed it before." Yevgeny stiffened again quite nervously and swallowed, trying not to let his voice shake with nerves as he replied. 

"I dunno what you're talking about," Yevgeny responded defensively, "I'm not hiding anything," he insisted, "I already told you why shit's awkward," he said, "And that's all there is to it." 

He tried to remain firm in his expression, not willing to budge a single bit, but Liam didn't look convinced in the slightest. The dark skinned man looked at him very flatly, then raised his eyebrows high. 

"So you don't have the hots for my brother?" Liam queried, even smirking at him like he refused to let the other man deny it.

Yevgeny went wide eyed as he fell silent once more, just trying so very desperately not to let his hands shake over the food within his grip. He'd been caught, exposed, figured the fuck out because Liam was way too observant for his own fucking good, and now he was scared. He was scared of what his friend was going to think of him if he admitted it, if he could being himself to do such a thing, instead remaining quiet as he chewed his lip and stared back at Liam without saying a word. Yevgeny didn't like being confronted, especially by something that was still difficult for himself to accept, and couldn't help but remain defensive in the face of it, still not willing to bend quite so easily as he looked away again. 

"Fuck no," he replied firmly, "Ian's practically my step dad," Yevgeny said, "And that's all I see him as," he insisted, but Liam's expression didn't change. 

"But he's not actually your dad," said Liam, "So it's not that weird," he assured. Yevgeny was still uncomfortable, even with his friend's reassurance and managed to take a bite of his burger, trying to avoid having this discussion. 

"I don't wanna talk about it," he said, knowing how guilty it made him sound, even if he refused to outright admit that Liam was right about his assumption. Though he still felt weird about it, even if Liam said it wasn't. 

They sat together in silence for a moment yet again, with Yevgeny refusing to look back over at him and much too ashamed of himself for what the other man had discovered about him. He just hope that Liam wouldn't tell anyone and wouldn't speak of when other people were around, but just like he promised he would when he'd confided in him about his sexuality the week before. But then what Liam said next shocked him even more than anything else that'd come out of his mouth. 

"You know, I kinda used to have a thing for Mickey," Liam revealed, causing the blonde man to snap his face back over to him with another incredulous, wide eyed expression. 

"My dad?" Yevgeny blurted with disbelief, then shook his head a bit, "You're full of shit," he accused, "Don't fuck with me like that," he said, though Liam didn't relent. 

"I'm serious," Liam replied surely, then gave a single shouldered shrug, "Still kinda do sometimes honestly," he said. Yevgeny stared at him again with a deep crinkle folding through his brow and screwed his face up a little more. 

"What the fuck could you possibly see in Mickey?" Yevgeny wondered, causing his friend to shrug again. 

"Probably the same kinda shit you see in my brother," Liam replied, "He's tough, resilient and doesn't take shit from anybody," he elaborated, then gazed at Yevgeny a bit more hesitantly just before he split a small smirk, "And he's not very bad to look at," he said. The other man rolled his eyes and made a mildly disgusted face from having to listen to someone speaking about his father in such a way. 

"Okay, you need to shut the fuck up now," said Yevgeny, "I don't wanna hear this shit," he frowned, earning him a chuckle and an upturn of the other man's palm.

"You asked," Liam reminded with amusement, not looking nearly as uncomfortable talking about such things as Yevgeny was, then smirked at him again, "It's not a fucking crime to admire someone no matter who it is," he said, "I think it's pretty normal actually." 

Yevgeny scoffed through his nose at that, then took another bite from his cheeseburger, chewing his mouthful as he peered hack ahead at the television. But then something told him to look again, feeling the gaze of the man beside him heavy on his skin and peeked back over to see Liam watching him again with a thoughtful lacing of hesitation weaving through his irises. 

He'd never seen anyone look at him quite like that before, and he wasn't quite sure how to properly decipher it. Yevgeny had never really seen Liam look nervous before, but he sure as fuck did right now, not knowing what to expect out of his mouth next or why he appeared the way he suddenly did. His face confused Yevgeny the longer he looked and didn't make him any less so when Liam finally spoke again. 

"I see a lot of him in you," Liam informed him quietly, "A lot of the qualities that I admire about him, I admire about you too," he said, "I always have," he whispered, causing Yevgeny's brow to smooth back out just the slightest bit, having never heard Liam speak to him in quite this way before. 

He wasn't sure if he fully understood what Liam was getting at, or why he'd never spoken these feelings before now, but he wasn't taking it lightly either. Liam had always been a great friend to Yev, his best friend even, having always been there for him when he felt no one else was, the only person he felt he could truly trust with just about anything. But Yevgeny also never thought there was anything more to it than that, curious if the other man's words really meant what he thought they might. 

Liam didn't seem to want to rush or push him though, but the look in his eyes became more and more clear the longer he peered into them. Maybe there could be more than friendship between them, if he were willing to give it a chance? But Yevgeny didn't want to think on too much right now, still trying to figure out so many other things that have occupied space in his mind lately, needing to give some time to sink in before he acknowledged it. Instead he set his food down and stood up to grasp the shopping bags that Ian had left behind and gave his head a flick. 

"We should probably get this shit put away," Yevgeny said, "Before we forget about it." 

Liam blinked and gave a nod, not looking at all disappointed and straightened his posture to push away any awkwardness that suddenly lingered between them, then stood up to grab a few bags as well. 

"Okay," Liam replied. 

Then as they began walking through the apartment to put things in their proper places, Yevgeny exhaled, knowing that he probably wouldn't be able to sleep tonight after everything that was said. But he also felt a little bit better about himself, knowing that at least one person thought he was far more special than anyone else ever had before. And after all the mental stress he'd forced himself to endure as of late, that was definitely worth _something_.

**Author's Note:**

> **Continuation of this fic will depend greatly on reaction and feedback.**  
> **So please don't hesitate to share your thoughts!**


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